ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Wednesday raised objections in the National Assembly over the government’s solar energy policy, questioning the proposed changes to net metering regulations and the imposition of taxes on solar panels.
The party termed the measures detrimental to the growth of renewable energy and contrary to public interest.
While moving a calling attention notice regarding changes in the net metering policy and the proposed 18 percent tax on solar panels in the National Assembly, Syed Naveed Qamar said: “The government has signed agreements with owners of Independent Power Producers (IPPs), who are being paid capacity payments from the pockets of the public. On the other hand, the government is discouraging people from adopting clean, renewable energy from domestic resources, without importing expensive fuel.
The government has to spend billions of dollars to import fuel to run power plants, but it has changed the policy and is imposing taxes on solar panels to discourage people from adopting renewable energy.”
MNAs of PPP Shazia Marri, Sehar Kamran, Mirza Ikhtiar Baig, and Muhammad Shahryar Khan, who were movers of calling attention notice, raised serious questions over the government’s solar energy policy and said it is discouraging the people from generating energy through indigenous resources.
While responding to the PPP members, Federal Minister for Energy Sardar Owais Ahmad Khan Leghari said that despite changes in the net metering policy, applications for solar connections are still being received at the same pace, adding that Pakistan generated 74 percent of its electricity from indigenous resources last year, and this share is expected to rise to 94 percent within four years. Responding to the calling attention notice, the minister said the matter had been under review for one year and was approved by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) and later the federal cabinet after consultations with all stakeholders.
He said net metering regulations were first introduced in 2017 by the same government and have undergone revisions over time in line with declining global solar infrastructure costs.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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