Federal Minister for Energy Sardar Owais Khan Leghari on Thursday informed the National Assembly that the process of shifting net metering consumers to a net billing system had been suspended on the instructions of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

He made the statement during a National Assembly session presided over by Deputy Speaker Ghulam Mustafa Shah, following a calling attention notice moved by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) against the new solar net metering regulations.

Responding to the notice, Leghari said the issue had been under consideration for the past eight to nine months and was discussed at the Economic Coordination Committee and later in the federal cabinet.

He said the net metering system was introduced in 2017 and that NEPRA had amended its regulations four to five times since then.

The minister told the House that Pakistan was currently producing 20,000 to 22,000 megawatts of electricity from solar energy, of which 6,000 to 7,000 megawatts were generated through net metering, while commercial and domestic users generated around 4,000 megawatts.

He added that only eight to 10 per cent of total solar generation was linked to net metering.

Leghari said 55 per cent of total power generation in fiscal year 2024-25 came from clean energy, with a target of reaching 90 per cent by 2034. He noted that 466,000 consumers were currently registered under net metering.

Under the new regulations, he said, the purchase price had been maintained at Rs27 per unit, while the government could procure electricity from other sources at around Rs8 per unit.

He added that the profit margin of net metering consumers would decline from nearly 50 per cent to 37 per cent and questioned whether such returns were insufficient.

Leghari further said the prime minister had directed the Power Division to file an appeal against NEPRA’s regulations.

PPP leader Sharmila Farooqi criticised the regulations, saying that over 466,000 consumers had trusted the government’s clean energy policy and should not be burdened with the power sector losses. She accused the government of shifting the cost of inefficiency and corruption onto solar users.

The minister also said the government had reduced circular debt by Rs780 billion in one year and secured financial benefits of Rs3.4 trillion through revised agreements with independent power producers.

The session was later adjourned indefinitely.

Earlier, the Prime Minister’s Office said Shehbaz Sharif had directed authorities to protect existing solar consumers and ensure that the burden of reforms did not fall disproportionately on any segment.