On 9 February 2026 the rules changed. Exporting surplus to the grid no longer works like free storage, and the system that makes sense now is sized differently. Here is the honest version.
How it works
On a sunny day your system produces energy, and some of it is used immediately by your home, farm or business. Depending on how much you use and how much the system makes, it can produce more electricity than you consume during those sunny hours.
On a grid-tied system that surplus is pushed out through your electricity meter and onto the utility grid. In return the utility pays you for those units at the buyback rate.
When you use electricity while the system is not producing — at night, for instance — you draw from the utility and pay for those units at your normal tariff. What you were paid for the export is settled separately.
What changed on 9 February 2026
Until February 2026, Pakistan ran net metering: one unit exported earned one unit back. NEPRA's Prosumer Regulations 2026 repealed that framework and replaced it with net billing.
Under net billing, exported and imported units are no longer equal. Everything you draw from the grid is charged at your normal slab tariff, and everything you export is bought at a separate, much lower buyback rate tied to the national average energy purchase price — currently in the region of Rs 8 to Rs 11 per unit, against an import tariff that generally runs between Rs 37 and Rs 55. Ask us for the rate in force the week you apply; it moves.
Net metering and net billing are not the same thing
The difference between the two schemes is what you receive for the energy you export. Net metering compensates you at the retail rate. Net billing compensates you at the lower supply or wholesale rate.
Under net metering, the electricity you uploaded was worth exactly what the electricity you bought was worth — one credit for every kilowatt-hour exported. That one-for-one exchange is what made it effectively free storage, and it is what ended in February 2026.
What is net billing?
Net billing works differently. The surplus your system generates is sold to the utility for less than it would cost you to buy it back. Your generation is treated like any large power producer selling into the grid, so instead of a credit on your bill you receive a rupee value set by the supply or wholesale rate.
Export 200 units in a month and import 300, and you are not billed for 100. You are billed for 300 at your tariff, and paid for 200 at the buyback rate.
Note: every rate on this page is indicative only. Your tariff depends on your connection and your distribution company, and the buyback rate is revised periodically.
If you already have a net meter
If you held a valid net metering agreement on 9 February 2026, you continue under that agreement until it expires — existing seven-year terms stay valid, at the old buyback rate of roughly Rs 26 per unit with one-for-one exchange. Applications filed before 8 February 2026 are being processed under the old policy. Anything filed after 9 February falls under net billing, and every renewal moves to net billing when the old contract ends.
One warning: that protection is tied to your existing agreement. If you increase your sanctioned load or extend the system, you can lose the grandfathered terms and be moved onto net billing. Ask us before you extend a grandfathered connection.
Applying now
The rules vary slightly from one city to the next, and from one distribution company to another. If you want to apply, contact us at any time and we will guide you through every step.
New connections are on a five-year contract rather than seven. A licence requirement and a Rs 1,000 per kilowatt fee were introduced in February 2026, then withdrawn in April 2026 for systems of 25 kW and below after public pressure — so a normal home or small commercial system pays no licensing fee. Above 25 kW the one-time Rs 1,000 per kilowatt still applies. All interconnection costs, including the bidirectional meter and any grid upgrade, are borne by you.
Limits you should know before sizing
The 2026 regulations cap a distributed generation facility at 1 MW and limit system capacity to your sanctioned load — you can no longer oversize past it as the old rules allowed. Systems of 250 kW and above need a load flow study. And no new connection is permitted where generation on your local transformer has already reached 80% of its rated capacity, which is worth checking early in dense areas.
Is solar still worth it under net billing?
Yes, for most of the people who were already good candidates, but the design changes. Exporting cheaply is no longer the goal; using your own generation is. That means sizing the array to your daytime load rather than oversizing it — which the sanctioned-load cap now enforces anyway — and putting a battery in to carry the evening instead of selling units at around Rs 11 and buying them back at Rs 37 to Rs 55. Send us a bill and we will show you both versions of the numbers.