Power minister defends move to abolish net metering as in line with law amid Senate fury

ISLAMABAD:

Power Minister Awais Leghari on Tuesday defended the power regulator’s changes on rooftop solar and net metering during a furious Senate session that criticised the decision, saying the new regulations were aimed at protecting poorer consumers.

The government is currently facing political backlash as the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) abolished exchange of electricity units in solar net metering. At present, the buyback rate for solar net generation is Rs25.9 per unit which may be reduced to Rs11 per unit. The contract period has been reduced from seven to five years. The burden of  capacity payments is being shifted to solar consumers now.

Under the new rules, utilities will be 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 to them at the applicable consumer tariff, effectively ending one-to-one net metering.

Defending the move in today’s Senate session, Leghari said: “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 said the regulations were not being changed for the first time. “NEPRA has not changed anyone’s agreement, and we have not said anything to the existing 466,000 net metering consumers,” Leghari added.

The power minister said the net metering issue was not even part of the existing agreement. He said the government had told consumers that, in future, whoever installed solar would have electricity purchased from them at the revised rate.

Leghari said the move was in favour of low-income consumers, while the government had reduced electricity prices for industry.

“We have made electricity 20% cheaper for industry,” he said.

Leghari said the government had been signalling its direction for months and claimed the Solar Association of Pakistan had supported the need for the proposed move.

“The Solar Association of Pakistan also said what the government is going to do is necessary,” he said, adding that the association suggested the changes be introduced after “five to six months”.

Leghari criticised the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, saying currency devaluation and higher electricity prices had worsened the situation.

“In PTI’s tenure, the rupee’s value fell three times,” he said. “In the founder of PTI’s government, electricity prices went through the roof.”

He said Pakistan planned to expand clean energy in its power mix.

“We have to reach 60% clean energy by 2030,” he said. “By 2034, 90% of electricity will come from clean energy. We are proud we are a clean energy country,” he said, adding that furnace oil use last year was “0.3%” and that 24% of electricity generation still relied on imported fuel.

“Our reform methods are moving in a positive direction. Not only the World Bank, but other international organisations have praised Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s power sector reforms, saying the world has never witnessed such responsible and revolutionary reforms,” he said.

Read More: NEPRA rolls out new regulations abolishing net metering

On independent power producers (IPPs), Leghari said the government had reduced financial leakages and burdens in the system.

He said the government had stopped “Rs3,400 billion” from going into what he described as “the pockets of tycoons”, and removed 10,000 megawatts the country was planning to purchase from the system.

Earlier, Senator Zarqa Suharwardi presented a resolution on the changes and solar policy, but Leghari opposed it and the House voted it down.

Speaking during the debate, Suharwardi called for a transparent policy on solar panels, saying IPPs were “looting this country” and should be shut down, and urging the government to adopt policies that provide relief to the public.

She called for a transparent solar policy and criticised IPPs.

“IPPs are looting this country — shut them down,” she said. “Policies should be made to facilitate the public.”

Senator Ali Zafar criticised the government’s stance on solar policy, accusing authorities of protecting powerful interests at the expense of ordinary consumers. He said a minister had told the House the government was not going to withdraw its solar policy.

Zafar called IPPs “a very big mafia” and alleged they were paid even when they did not generate electricity. He accused the government of targeting poorer people who had installed solar panels and criticised proposed changes linked to net metering.

“Today NEPRA has given a policy that electricity will be bought from the public at Rs11 and sold at Rs40,” he said.

Zafar said the government would argue that NEPRA was an independent institution and the policy was its own, but rejected that claim.

“NEPRA is not an independent institution,” he said. “NEPRA makes the policy the government tells it to make.”

He said the law required the state to honour commitments, even those made to ordinary citizens, and warned that policy reversals would damage investor confidence.

Zafar called for the NEPRA chairman to be summoned and sent to jail, and questioned whether the regulator had previously urged the public to adopt solar and net metering.

In a post on X, Zafar said tax breaks and incentives were given all over the world to promote green energy, “but in our country, the cruel policies of the rulers are ruining the lives of the people.

“It is cruel to end net metering and force the people to buy expensive electricity. It is unacceptable to burden the people suffering from historic inflation and unemployment before the summer instead of providing relief. We will raise our voice against this anti-people policy at every forum.”

Senator Sherry Rehman backed criticism over the government’s solar policy, endorsing the position taken by Senators Zafar and Suharwardi, accusing authorities of breaking earlier assurances.

“In the whole region, electricity is the most expensive in Pakistan,” she said. “There are very large state entities that are not paying bills.”

She said Pakistan was rapidly shifting towards solar power and cited Parliament House as an early adopter. She also criticised Pakistan’s continued reliance on imported fuel.

Read More: Senate seeks judicial probe into capital attack

Rehman accused the country’s power distribution system of deep corruption and warned that repeated tariff changes would undermine investor confidence, particularly if distribution companies were being favoured.

She said electricity bills had been turned into a tool for tax collection and questioned why consumers faced unannounced load-shedding.

“We are all paying taxes on the electricity bill,” she said. “You have put ten types of taxes and surcharges in the bill.”

Rehman warned that economic pressures were escalating, citing rising unemployment. She urged the government to fix the distribution companies and said investors were leaving.

Islamabad suicide blast death toll rises to 36

During the session, Health Minister Mustafa Kamal told the upper house that the death toll from the suicide blast at an imambargah in Islamabad had risen to 36.

He said two victims died at Polyclinic Hospital, one at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences and another at a private hospital, while the remaining fatalities occurred at the scene before medical evacuation.

Kamal said several injured people were moved to major hospitals in Islamabad for emergency treatment, but additional deaths were reported after hospitalisation, bringing the confirmed toll to 36.

According to the minister, 15 injured people remained in critical condition, nine of whom are on ventilators, including seven patients at Polyclinic Hospital. He told lawmakers that all necessary medical facilities were being provided and there was no shortage of medicines, equipment or treatment.

Clarifying earlier conflicting reports, Kamal said the figures shared were official and verified, adding that the government was closely monitoring the situation.

Senators protest live-stream censorship

The Senate session opened today with senators raising concerns about censorship of live-streaming and continuing debate over the recent Islamabad attack.

Several senators criticised the absence of live-streaming during proceedings. Rehman said the session was not being live-streamed, neither yesterday nor today, and said she was recording a protest on behalf of all senators.

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Senator Zafar said he had earlier raised the issue of speeches not being live-streamed, and added that previously only their speeches were censored but now the entire House was being censored. The censorship concerns came amid an extended discussion on terrorism.

Senator Aimal Wali Khan questioned the state’s handling of extremism, saying the country had failed to clearly determine whether the group he referred to as Fitna al Khawarij was an enemy of the state.

He said those described today as extremists were previously labelled warriors and, later, mujahideen, and asked whether those who facilitated the return of militants were not accountable for the consequences. He said such attitudes could not continue, adding that terrorism transcended colour, race and religion.

The Awami National Party chief said the Constitution guaranteed the right to life and criticised the erosion of the National Action Plan (NAP), saying the same regime that received the plan had undermined it. He stressed the need for collective action against extremism.

Senator Afnanullah Khan described the attack as part of a conspiracy to weaken Pakistan and warned that the country must not become part of that conspiracy.

He noted the attack occurred in a mosque attended by people of all sects and questioned why terrorism had returned after it had been brought under control by 2018 through operations and a comprehensive policy. He said mistakes must be acknowledged or conditions would worsen.

Opposition leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas said there was extensive debate on the terrorist incident but the interior minister was not present in the House and that the government should show seriousness on such a sensitive matter. When the presiding officer pointed out that four ministers were present, the opposition leader asked that the interior minister at least be shown to the House.

Senator Waqar Mehdi alleged that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was behind terrorism in Pakistan and said Pakistan’s observance of Kashmir Solidarity Day on February 5 had angered India.

He said the incident on February 6 was an attempt to weaken Pakistan and urged implementation of the NAP. He also paid tribute to Aun Abbas, whom he said risked his life during the attack and recommended that he be awarded the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz.