AT the time of writing, the contractual status of net-metered solar connections remains unclear. New regulations from Nepra, backed by the Power Division, converted all new and existing customers to a net-billing scheme, drastically reducing the buyback rate. Shortly after, though, the prime minister entered the fray and asked the same Power Division to challenge the regulator’s decision.

Passionate adherents of the sitting government who were lauding Nepra’s boldness in taking on 470,000 ‘elites’ then promptly lauded the PM’s attentiveness to their tears. In some eyes, the government simply can’t lose.

On the larger issue at hand, there are a few things that can be conceded from the outset. The first is that the official position on net-metering is, narrowly and technically, correct. The marginal price of electricity during the day has fallen, but net-metered connections, amounting to around 7,000 MW of installed capacity, are able to offset their exported units at the average grid price.

In this way, they accrue a benefit that is not available to households who do not have grid-connected solar. And yes, the gap between the two (ie, the benefit) is indirectly paid for by non-net-metered consumers via the distribution companies.

The second point of concession is that the generous incentive offered by net-metering certainly encouraged solar adoption, but this adoption forms a comparatively small part of Pakistan’s ongoing solar revolution. The vast bulk of solar adoption, totalling more than 14,000 MW of capacity, is off-grid,........

© Dawn