Net metering Pakistan 2026: what changed and what to do next

The headline change in one paragraph

On 9 February 2026, NEPRA notified the Prosumer Regulations 2026 through SRO 251(I)/2026. The decade-old net metering scheme was retired for new applicants. In its place came a different model called net billing. The simple version, in Urdu and English: پرانے قاعدے میں ایک یونٹ بھیجنے پر ایک یونٹ کا کریڈٹ ملتا تھا. Old rule, one unit out got you one unit of credit back. New rule, one unit out gets you about eleven rupees, while one unit in still costs you fifty to sixty-five rupees. Same wires, different math.

The old rate vs the new rate, in actual numbers

Under net metering, an exported unit was netted against an imported unit at the consumer's slab rate. For a domestic user above 700 units a month, that meant each exported unit was effectively worth somewhere between PKR 50 and PKR 65 after fuel price adjustment and taxes. A small share of users in the highest slabs were even cross-subsidising themselves at notional rates close to PKR 70 a unit.

Under the new net billing model, NEPRA sets the buyback at the National Average Energy Purchase Price (NAEPP). At the time of notification this sat near PKR 8.13 per unit, and is currently being reported at roughly PKR 9 to PKR 11 per unit depending on the DISCO and the quarterly adjustment. LESCO, in Lahore, has been operating around the higher end of that band.

So the exported unit is now worth one-fifth to one-sixth of what it was worth in early 2026. Same panel, same sunshine, much less rupee.

Who got grandfathered (and why this matters if you applied early)

After heavy public pushback in February and March, NEPRA issued an amendment that protects two groups. First, every consumer who already had a valid net metering agreement signed and live before 9 February 2026 keeps the old rules until that contract expires (typically the remaining years of a 7-year agreement). Second, the 5,165 applications that had been formally submitted to the relevant DISCO before 8 February 2026, covering 250.822 MW of capacity in total, are being processed under the older net metering policy rather than the new net billing one.

What this means in plain terms: if a friend got their net metering installed in 2024 or in January 2026, they are fine. Their export rate stays attractive for the remainder of their contract. If a neighbour submitted their file in the first week of February 2026, they should still come through under the old rules, though processing has been slow.

Everyone applying from 9 February 2026 onwards is on net billing terms.

What net billing actually means, in plain words

Net metering treated the grid like a free battery. You exported during the day, the meter ran backwards, and you pulled units back at night at no net cost. Net billing treats you like a tiny power plant that is treated badly. The DISCO is your wholesale customer when you sell. You are still a retail customer when you buy. The wholesale rate is roughly PKR 9 to PKR 11 a unit. The retail rate, after all fuel adjustments, taxes, and surcharges, is roughly PKR 45 to PKR 65 a unit depending on slab.

The DISCO pockets the difference. That is the whole reform in one sentence.

How the math changed for a new applicant

Take a real example. A house in Johar Town runs a 10kW system. The panels produce around 40 to 45 units a day on average across the year. Family is at work and school during peak production hours, so daytime self-consumption is only about 12 units. The other 30 units used to be exported and netted off the evening AC load.

Old net metering: those 30 daily exported units offset evening imports at roughly PKR 55 a unit. Yearly savings from exports, around 30 x 365 x 55 = PKR 6.0 lakh.

New net billing: those same 30 exported units now get paid out at, say, PKR 10 a unit. Yearly export income drops to around 30 x 365 x 10 = PKR 1.1 lakh. The household then still imports its evening units at PKR 55. The difference, around PKR 4.9 lakh per year, is gone unless that energy can be used in real time or stored in a battery.

Payback used to land in 3 to 5 years for a well-sized export-heavy system. For a grid-export-only system installed after February 2026, payback now stretches to 7 to 12 years depending on tariff slab and consumption pattern. Still positive, but no longer the obvious deal it was.

The LESCO net metering process today (yes, it still exists, as net billing)

The application route did not disappear. It is the rate that changed. The steps a Lahore homeowner takes today are roughly the same as last year, with a couple of new line items:

1. Install a system sized to the sanctioned load. New rule: capacity cannot exceed the consumer's sanctioned load, and no new connection is allowed on a transformer that is already at 80% of its rated capacity from existing prosumers.
2. Get a load-flow study if the system is 250kW or larger. Most homes are well below this.
3. Apply to LESCO with the application form, CNIC, paid electricity bill copy, ownership documents or rent agreement, single-line diagram, and equipment datasheets.
4. Pay the non-refundable concurrence fee of PKR 1,000 per kilowatt. A 10kW system, for example, attracts a PKR 10,000 concurrence fee.
5. LESCO conducts a technical inspection. Inspection fees fall in the PKR 2,000 to PKR 5,000 range depending on system size.
6. The bi-directional meter, recently revised in price, is supplied by LESCO at around PKR 42,000 to PKR 46,000. The prosumer pays for this and for any grid upgrade or transformer-side cost that the inspection identifies.
7. Net billing agreement is signed for a standard 5-year term (down from 7 years under the previous regime). The contract is renewable by mutual consent.

Realistic timeline, from application to commissioning, is 4 to 8 weeks if the file is clean. Document gaps and transformer-loading checks can push that out to 60 or 90 days.

If you are stuck in the application queue past 8 February

Plenty of Lahore households have files sitting at LESCO right now, submitted around February or March. The simple test is the submission date stamp on the file. If it is dated before 8 February 2026 and is among the 5,165 protected applications, the file is being processed on the old net metering rate. If it was submitted on or after 9 February, the file moves to net billing.

Two pieces of practical advice. First, ask LESCO in writing for confirmation of which regime applies. The grandfathering list is finite and specific. Second, if you are on net billing, consider redesigning the system. A system optimised for export is the wrong system at PKR 10 a unit. A system optimised for daytime self-consumption, often with a small battery, is the right one.

The 5-year contract clause, and what happens after

The new regulations cut the contract term from seven years to five. That sounds smaller but is meaningful. At year five, the contract is up for renewal. NEPRA will almost certainly review the buyback rate again at that point. The direction could be lower (more pressure on prosumers) or marginally higher (if generation costs rise nationally). What an applicant should not assume is that today's PKR 10 rate is the rate that will apply for the full economic life of the panels (25 years). Plan for two or three rate resets across the lifetime of the system.

Should anyone still bother applying for net metering today?

Yes, in three specific situations.

First, large daytime loads. A factory, a small commercial unit, a school, a clinic, or any premises where the load runs heavy during sunshine hours still benefits enormously. Most of the solar generation is consumed on-site at full retail rate. The buyback only matters for the small surplus.

Second, oversized rooftops that genuinely cannot be sized down. Some commercial sites have shading, structural, or wiring reasons that lock in a particular system size. If exports are unavoidable, getting paid PKR 10 a unit beats getting paid nothing.

Third, sites planning a heat pump, EV charger, or a planned future load. Today's exports become tomorrow's self-consumption. Locking in the meter and agreement now keeps the option open.

The smarter path most Lahore homes are now taking

For an ordinary house with evening-heavy AC use and modest daytime load, the math now points to hybrid plus battery, sized for self-consumption, rather than a big export-heavy on-grid system. The logic is simple. Every unit consumed inside the house from the panel or the battery is a unit avoided at PKR 55. Every unit sent to the grid is a unit sold at PKR 10. The gap between those two numbers is what pays for the battery.

A typical hybrid setup for a five-marla or ten-marla Lahore home now looks like this: 8kW to 12kW of panels, a single-phase hybrid inverter rated 8kW to 10kW, and a 10kWh to 15kWh LiFePO4 battery. The battery covers the evening peak and a few hours of overnight load. Whatever cannot be stored is exported at the net billing rate, which is treated as a small bonus rather than the core return.

Net metering, in 2026, is no longer the centrepiece. Self-consumption is.

Common questions

Is net metering finished in Pakistan?

No. The name is finished. The mechanism continues under the title net billing. Bi-directional meters are still being issued, agreements are still being signed, surplus is still being bought by LESCO and the other DISCOs. The rate is just much lower.

What is the new export rate in Lahore right now?

LESCO is currently buying at a rate close to the National Average Energy Purchase Price, which has been in the PKR 9 to PKR 11 per unit band through 2026. The exact rate is reviewed quarterly and published on the NEPRA website.

If my agreement was signed in 2024, does anything change for me?

No. Existing agreements run their full term under the original net metering rules. The amendment notified after public pressure confirms this protection until the contract expires.

How much does the bi-directional meter cost today?

Roughly PKR 42,000 to PKR 46,000, supplied and installed by LESCO. This is paid by the prosumer along with the new PKR 1,000 per kilowatt concurrence fee and the inspection charges.

Is it worth installing solar at all under net billing?

Yes, but the design has to change. A system built to export as much as possible no longer makes financial sense for most homes. A system built to consume its own production, with a battery to shift solar energy into the evening, pays back well. The shorter answer: solar is still worth it, the rooftop generation is worth PKR 50+ per unit when used at home, and only the spillover gets the lower buyback rate.