PM Shehbaz orders review of NEPRA’s new power regulations

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday directed the Power Division to immediately file a review petition regarding the protection of contracts of existing solar consumers, to ensure that current agreements are safeguarded to the fullest extent possible.

The development came during a high-level special meeting, chaired by PM Shehbaz Sharif, which was held in Islamabad today to review the issuance of new regulations by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA), read a statement.

PM Shehbaz further directed the Power Division to formulate a comprehensive strategy to ensure that the burden of 466,000 solar consumers does not fall on over 37.6 million consumers who rely on electricity from the national grid.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Federal Ministers Ahsan Khan Cheema, Ataullah Tarar, Ali Pervaiz Malik, Sardar Awais Khan Leghari, Minister of State Bilal Azhar Kayani, Adviser on Privatisation Muhammad Ali, and other senior officials.

NEPRA on Monday issued a notification for the Prosumer Regulations, 2026, marking a transition from the existing net metering mechanism to a net billing framework.

Under these regulations, a prosumer may be a homeowner with rooftop solar panels, a farmer operating a biogas plant, or an industrial facility running wind turbines. As long as the power generation facility is clean and has a capacity of up to one megawatt, it qualifies to participate in this new energy partnership.

However, becoming a prosumer involves more than simply installing generation equipment. A defined approval process must be followed.

Under this arrangement, if the prosumer consumes more electricity than they generate, consumption is billed at the applicable tariff. If generation exceeds consumption, the surplus electricity is purchased by the licensee at the national average energy purchase price. Billing adjustments are carried out monthly, and any surplus amount is credited to the next billing cycle or paid quarterly.

The agreement between the prosumer and the licensee is valid for five years and may be renewed by mutual consent. Either party may terminate the agreement with proper notice and approval; however, all accrued rights and obligations remain enforceable.