Overview
- NEPRA’s Prosumer Regulations 2026 replace one-to-one net metering with net billing for future users, requiring utilities to buy surplus solar at the national average energy purchase price and shifting to five-year contracts.
- The regulator published a draft amendment deemed effective from February 9, 2026, confirming that existing net‑metering agreements will be honored until they expire.
- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed a review to protect current contracts, and Power Minister Awais Leghari said the government will not seek to reverse net billing for new applicants.
- Officials cite cross-subsidy concerns, noting roughly 466,506 existing prosumers—about 1% of consumers—and estimating last year’s impact on other users at Rs223 billion, with a projected Rs2.87 per unit this fiscal year.
- Parliamentarians and industry stakeholders criticized the abrupt shift, warning of damage to investor confidence and predicting longer payback periods, slower rooftop solar uptake and potential moves toward battery storage.