- Premier Shehbaz directs Power Division to immediately file appeal against Nepra’s ‘Prosumer Regulations 2026’
- Emphasizes 466,000 existing solar users must not bear burden on 37.6 million grid consumers
- Stresses need for comprehensive plan to protect existing agreements and encourage rooftop solar adoption
- High-level meeting attended by Ishaq Dar, Awais Leghari, Ahad Cheema and senior officials reviews new net metering regulations
- Nepra replaces net metering with net billing; buyback rate may drop from Rs25.9 to Rs11 per unit
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday directed the Power Division to immediately file an appeal with the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) to review the “new solar regulations,” in a bid to protect existing contracts for current solar users.
The premier issued the instructions while chairing a high-level special meeting in Islamabad to discuss the implications of Nepra’s recently issued regulations, a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said.
The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Federal Ministers Ahad Khan Cheema, Attaullah Tarar, Ali Pervaiz Malik, Sardar Owais Khan Laghari, Minister of State Bilal Azhar Kiani, Privatisation Advisor Muhammad Ali, and other senior officials.
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif Takes Immediate Notice of NEPRA’s New Regulations on Solar
A high-level special meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, was held to review NEPRA’s issuance of new regulations.
The Prime Minister has directed the Power… pic.twitter.com/ymhWJHnAAu
— Government of Pakistan (@GovtofPakistan) February 11, 2026
The prime minister emphasized that the burden on 466,000 existing solar users should not fall on the 37.6 million consumers relying solely on the national grid. A comprehensive plan will be developed by the Power Division to address the issue, the statement added.
Nepra had abolished the exchange-of-units system under solar net metering on Monday, replacing it with a net billing framework under the Prosumer Regulations 2026, triggering widespread criticism from politicians, former officials, and energy experts. Critics argue the move could disincentivize rooftop solar adoption and worsen power sector inefficiencies.
Currently, the buyback rate for solar net generation stands at Rs25.9 per unit, which may be reduced to Rs11 per unit under the new rules. The contract period has also been reduced from seven to five years, and the burden of capacity payments is now being shifted to solar consumers.
Under the new regulations, utilities are required to purchase excess electricity from prosumers—households, businesses, and industries generating up to one megawatt—at the national average energy purchase price, while selling electricity back at the applicable consumer tariff, effectively ending one-to-one net metering.
The new buyback rate has not yet been officially notified, but Rs11 per unit was discussed during stakeholder consultations. Solar net consumers will have to pay the net difference to Discos once the exchange-of-units regime ends.
The policy does not apply to existing consumers, but after contract expiry, Discos have the authority to either terminate agreements or shift users to the new framework.
Nepra’s overhaul replaces the 2015 Alternative and Renewable Energy Distributed Generation and Net Metering Regulations, fundamentally changing how rooftop solar and other small generators are compensated. The new rules also apply to solar, wind, and biogas systems and take effect immediately.
On Tuesday, Power Minister Awais Leghari defended the move, saying, “These are a change in the regulations, and it is the job of the regulator to change them as per the law and the Constitution.”
He stressed that Nepra had not changed any existing agreements, and nothing in the current framework affected the 466,000 net metering consumers. Leghari added that the government had clearly communicated that future solar installations would have electricity purchased at the revised rate.
