Federal Government Plans to Bring Down Solar Net Metering Rates
The federal government is planning to bring down the rate for solar net metering from over Rs. 21 per unit to just Rs. 7.5-11 per unit. This move by the government has come as a result of a decline in the rates of solar panels and concerns raised by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on increasing use of solar energy and its impact on grid electricity usage.
If this hike is indeed allowed, then people with rooftop solar systems would garner less money for the extra electricity they send to the grid. Simultaneously they would have to pay Rs. 60 per unit of electricity at peak hours from the grid. That makes six units of solar power worth just one unit of grid power, making it less enticing to install solar panels. It would also be conducive to minimizing the existing payment issues which power producers have.
The new proposes for tariffs have been inspired by a recent tender by K-Electric solar energy bid that offered 3.1 cents per unit. The new tariff will be before NEPRA for approval.
The IMF has also expressed its concerns regarding the use of the national grid as an “unpaid storage facility” by solar power users. They suggest a few measures that would increase demand for grid electricity. Earlier, the government had proposed gross metering, which would have paid solar users a fixed rate for the energy exported to the grid but made them pay retail prices for electricity drawn from the grid.
