ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani regulator has decided to abolish preferential buyback rates for electricity sold to the national grid by existing rooftop solar users, according to a draft of the notification seen by Arab News on Monday.
The development comes days after Pakistan introduced new regulations that sharply reduced the rate at which households and businesses were being paid for excess electricity generated from rooftop solar systems, in a move that was likely to ease financial pressure on state-run power utilities.
The changes, which were widely criticized in Pakistan, replaced the net-metering regime, under which solar users offset power bills at the same rate they pay for grid power, with a net-billing framework that separates buying and selling prices, which meant consumers would pay full tariffs for power drawn from the grid while receiving a lower, market-linked rate for excess power they exported.
However, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) is now amending the regulations notified on Feb. 9 to allow existing solar users to continue to sell excess power to the national grid at the same rates they purchase from it.
"The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority hereby notifies following amendment(s) in the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Prosumer) Regulations," it said in the draft notification.
