ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Energy, Sardar Awais Ahmad Leghari, asserted that the number of solar net-metering consumers is expected to rise under the newly introduced regulations.
Clarifying the impact of the revised solar tariff, he stated that the new rates would only apply to future net-metering applicants, ensuring that existing consumers remain unaffected.
His statement comes in the wake of the Economic Coordination Committee’s (ECC) recent decision to revise the buyback tariff for solar rooftop consumers, reducing it from Rs27 per unit to Rs10 per unit.
Leghari reassured that solar consumers would still be able to recover their investment within approximately four years, commonly referred to as the payback period.
Addressing concerns and speculations circulating on social media, he dismissed claims that the government was discouraging solar adoption, emphasizing that no taxes had been imposed on solar panels.
Highlighting the growth of solar energy, the minister noted that the integration of solar power into the system had increased by 1,500MW to 2,000MW over the past 15 months. He projected that an additional 1,200MW of solar electricity would be added annually.
When questioned about former finance minister Miftah Ismail’s claim regarding an 18% tax on exported solar units, Leghari dismissed it as misinformation, categorically stating that no such tax would be imposed.
Addressing concerns about the financial burden on grid consumers, he explained that last year’s burden of Rs34 billion had escalated to Rs150 billion due to a decline in grid consumers amid economic challenges and increased net-metering. Since capacity payments are distributed among grid users, the reduced number of consumers led to a higher cost burden per user.
