NEPRA Net Metering Policy Is Unjust, Says PTI’s Barrister Ali Zafar

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Barrister Ali Zafar has strongly criticised the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority’s (NEPRA) decision on net billing, describing it as a “bomb” dropped on the public.

Speaking in the Senate, Ali Zafar said NEPRA would purchase electricity generated by the public at Rs11 per unit, while the government would sell the same electricity back to consumers at Rs40 per unit, questioning how such a policy could be justified.

He said the public had been encouraged to install solar systems with promises of financial benefit. Acting on those assurances, many people took loans and invested hundreds of thousands of rupees in solar panels.

The PTI senator said a federal minister responded in the Senate that the government could not act against the public and claimed that the decision was made independently by NEPRA, which the minister described as an autonomous body.

Ali Zafar rejected that claim, arguing that NEPRA is not independent and formulates policies based on government directives. He further alleged that independent power producers (IPPs) are being paid even when they do not generate electricity.

He termed the net billing decision a direct blow to the public and demanded that the NEPRA chairman be summoned before the Senate. He added that if NEPRA has taken this decision and the government claims it is helpless, then the government should bring legislation to address the issue.

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