Net metering system: Roof solar panel tariff may be cut to Rs7.5-11 per unit

ISLAMABAD: The government is considering reducing the roof solar panel tariff to Rs7.5-11 per unit from the existing over Rs21 per unit at which the electricity is being given to the national grid through the net metering system.

Right now, two units generated through roof solar panels are equal to one unit of grid electricity.

The buyback tariff from solar consumers may be brought down to Rs7.5-11 per unit in view of the massive decline in solar panel prices. In return, consumers using roof solar panels would be provided with electricity from the national grid at Rs60 per unit during the night-time or peak hours.

“Under the new scenario, six units to be generated through roof solar panels would be equal to one unit of grid electricity. This would decrease the trend of installing solar panels on roofs by consumers as it is aggravating the capacity payments issue,” a senior official of the Energy Ministry told The News. The IMF in recent interaction with the government functionaries also expressed reservations about the increasing usage of solarized electricity in the country and showed concern over the decreasing utilization of grid electricity. The Fund wants the government to increase the demand for utilization of the grid electricity.

According to the recently launched study titled ‘The Great Solar Rush in Pakistan’, the country imported around 15GW solar panels worth $2.1 billion from China over the past fiscal year.

Contributing to this transition is the increased electricity tariffs — up by 155 percent over three years — driving high consumption households and industries to shift towards solar energy solutions, says the study.

The official said that K Electric got the bid of 3.1 cents per unit for its solar plant and the government is pondering to bring down the solar panel tariff at close to the bid for which the government would approach Nepra. “The people using solar panels will be provided with electricity at Rs60 per unit during night or peak hours. They are currently getting electricity from the grid at Rs42 per unit.”

The IMF at the time of talks for the loan program in 2023 had earlier been sensitized that the country’s national grid was currently providing the service of storing electricity to rooftop solar consumers. If the consumer has roof solar system detached from the national grid, he would have to install huge batteries to store solar energy for consumption during night-time. The per unit cost he would brave will stand at 20 cents or Rs60 per unit.

Authorities earlier wanted the introduction of gross metering instead of net metering. Under the gross metering system, a consumer is compensated at a fixed feed-in-tariff for total units of solar energy generated and exported to the grid (as measured by a unidirectional gross meter).

One must pay retail supply tariff to the power distribution company for power consumed from the grid. Total solar generation is measured by bi-directional meter, while total power import by unidirectional meter. The Nepra has recently received many complaints from consumers across the country that DISCOS and K Electric are not entertaining the applications of installing net metering system. Nepra to this effect issued a show cause notice to the KE for net metering violations.