To incentivize consumers to transition back to prohibitively expensive grid electricity and deter solar usage, the federal government has made the decision to eliminate solar net metering and substitute it with a gross metering system.
The Ministry of Energy has notified the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that distribution companies’ (DISCOs) revenues are being significantly diminished by net metering. As reported by the Express Tribune, gross metering will require consumers to transfer all of the electricity generated on their rooftops to the grid and then purchase back what they require.
Next fiscal year, the government intends to implement gross metering as a response to the growing trend of households transitioning to solar energy as a means to circumvent the high cost of grid electricity, which averages Rs. 62 per unit plus additional charges.
The energy ministry made an effort to elucidate to the lender the adverse effects of solar panel installation on grid electricity demand, including increased payments for dormant capacity and quarterly tariff adjustments. During the initial half-year of the present fiscal year, an importation of 6,800 MW of solar panels occurred.
As a significant contributor to rising electricity costs, inactive capacity payments were identified by the IMF, which also suggested that the captive power generation policy, which permits industrialists to use cheaper gas for in-house electricity, be reevaluated. Next month, the government could potentially terminate this captive gas policy, compelling industries to switch to more costly utility electricity.
