Govt ‘plans replacing solar net metering with gross metering’

ISLAMABAD: In an apparent bid to discourage in-house power generation, the federal government has planned to replace solar net metering with “gross metering”, Geo News reported citing sources.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government started working on envisaging the gross metering policy for rooftop solar panels which would extensively reduce financial benefits of the in-house power generation, as per the insiders.

The sources said that recommendations have been tabled to end unit-for-unit formula under the gross metering, whereas, the prices of electricity units given to the national grid would be halved under the new policy.

It was also learnt that the government will purchase electricity units from the rooftop solar panel owners at the price set by the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA). On the other hand, the power distribution companies (Discos) will sell the electricity to the consumers at the government rates.

The sources added that Pakistan also held talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) regarding its gross metering policy. The new policy is likely to be presented before the federal government and Council of Common Interests (CCI) for its final approval.