The Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet has approved amendments to net-metering regulations to reduce financial burden on grid consumers.

The ECC, which met in Islamabad today with Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb in the chair, took this decision in light of a significant increase in the number of solar net-metering consumers.

As part of the approved changes, the ECC revised the buyback rate from the National Average Power Purchase Price to 10 rupees per unit. Furthermore, the committee allowed the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority to revise this buyback rate periodically, ensuring that the framework remains flexible and aligned with evolving market conditions.

It was clarified, however, that the revised framework will not apply to existing net-metered consumers who have a valid license, concurrence, or agreement under the NEPRA Distributed Generation and Net Metering Regulations, 2015. Any such agreements will remain effective until the expiration of the license or agreement, whichever occurs first. This ensures that the rights and obligations of these consumers, including agreed-upon rates, will continue as per the existing terms.

Additionally, the ECC also approved an update to the settlement mechanism. Under the new structure, imported and exported units will be treated separately for billing purposes. The exported units will be purchased at the revised buyback rate of 10 rupees per unit, while the imported units will be billed at the applicable peak and off-peak rates, inclusive of taxes and surcharges, during the monthly billing cycle.

The ECC was informed that the number of solar net-metering consumers surged to 283,000 by December 2024 from 226,440 in October 2024. The total installed capacity also grew from 321 megawatts in 2021 to 4,124 megawatts by December 2024, underscoring the rapid expansion of the net-metering sector. However, the increase in solar net-metering consumers has contributed to a rising cost of electricity for grid consumers, undermining the government's efforts to reduce power tariffs.

Furthermore, the ECC further allowed M/s Agven Private Limited to export up to 10,000 tons of Potassium Sulphate Fertilizer annually or fifty percent of the actual production, whichever is lower, from Gwadar Port, until December 31 this year.

Additionally, the ECC approved technical supplementary grants worth over one billion rupees in favor of various departments and ministries for the current fiscal year.

The committee approved 250 million rupees to support ICT-based educational initiatives, including smart classrooms, procurement of Chrome books, technology parks, and high-impact training centers, 220 million rupees to enhance SME development, 36.099 million rupees to procure spare parts for helicopter maintenance by Pakistan Rangers, Sindh, 15.4 million for helicopter maintenance by Frontier Corps Balochistan, North, and 670 million rupees for the Sustainable Development Goals Achievement Programme.