This letter refers to the news report ‘Government ends net metering, shifts rooftop solar to net billing’ (February 10, 2026). The report mentioned that the nation’s utilities shall buy surplus (solar) power at the national average rate and sell back at the consumer tariff. The prosumer contracts would be cut from seven to five years and, finally, the utilities would retain the powers to disconnect systems in case of faults, non-compliance or maintenance. These are sound strategies, theoretically speaking, and I hope the government will begin to implement these in letter and spirit. The essential thing to understand is that neither the electricity grid nor the solar community should be relied upon to bank-roll the other. Having said that, the solar revolution is an excellent innovation for a poor country like ours, where people and businesses often struggle with high energy or fuel bills.
If the government can radically reform the electricity sector and drastically rein in the sector’s bulging losses then, we could revert to the earlier set of solar incentives. Going forward, the power authorities should be proactive in improving the grid’s performance and looking out for better solar incentives.
Abbas R Siddiqi
Lahore
