Power distribution companies (DISCOs) have asked the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) to approve fixed charges for solar net metering users as more consumers reduce reliance on the national grid, increasing financial pressure on the power sector.
At a public hearing on Tuesday, Multan Electric Power Company and Gujranwala Electric Power Company informed NEPRA that rising adoption of solar net metering was cutting their revenue streams. Their proposal, supported by the Ministry of Energy (Power Division), suggested adding fixed charges on electricity exported by net metering consumers to help recover transmission and distribution expenses.
The request comes at a time when the government is facing declining electricity demand and an oversupply in the gas sector, mainly due to high tariffs that have pushed households and businesses toward solar installations. Earlier efforts by the Power Division to revise the net metering framework, including a plan to reduce the buyback rate to Rs10 per unit, drew strong criticism from the public and were eventually turned down by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
During Tuesday’s session, NEPRA also reviewed multi year tariff petitions submitted by MEPCO and GEPCO for the 2025-26 to 2029-30 period. Company representatives argued that fixed charges would help stabilise their operations, while the Power Division cautioned that grid connected users were shouldering an increasing share of capacity payments.
The regulator further expressed concern over delays in payments to net metering consumers and questioned GEPCO regarding the unauthorized installation of advanced metering infrastructure.