The Pakistani government’s recent proposal to slash the buyback rate for surplus solar electricity under its net metering policy—from Rs 27 per unit to Rs 10 for new contracts—has sparked heated debate. As an electronics engineer from the Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute (GIKI) with over a decade of hands-on experience in solar energy, and as the head of a firm among the first 15 to secure net metering vendor certification in Pakistan, I’ve witnessed the evolution of this policy firsthand. What began as a visionary step in 2018 to promote renewable energy has now reached a crossroads, with implications for millions of consumers and the nation’s energy future.
The Policy Pivot: A Burden or a Balancing Act?
The government’s move, announced in early March 2025, stems from concerns over the financial strain net metering allegedly places on the grid. Energy Minister Awais Leghari has argued that the policy, introduced in January 2018 under then-Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, has ballooned into a Rs 150 billion burden on the 40 million non-solar consumers. These households, he claims, are footing an additional Rs 1.5 per unit to subsidize the 283,000 net metering beneficiaries—many of whom belong to affluent urban pockets like Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad.
