Solar Net Billing and Prosumer Rules in Pakistan — 2026 Guide
How NEPRA’s Prosumer Regulations 2026 treat imports, exports and applications — and how Sunchaser can assist with documentation and DISCO coordination. Eligibility and approval remain subject to NEPRA and DISCO requirements.
2026 regulations
What changed in 2026?
The NEPRA Prosumer Regulations 2026 came into force on February 9, 2026. They repealed the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Alternative & Renewable Energy) Distributed Generation and Net Metering Regulations, 2015. Public discussion still uses the familiar phrase “net metering,” but billing for new arrangements is described in the regulations as a net billing arrangement.
This page summarises key published rules for homeowners and businesses. It is not personalised legal advice. Always check the official text and your licensee’s current process.
August 2026 amendment
Facilities of 25 kW or below
S.R.O. 1330(I)/2026 (notification dated 6 August 2026) amends the Prosumer Regulations. For smaller facilities it provides:
Provided that a prosumer having distributed generation facility of 25 kW or below capacity shall not be required to seek concurrence from the Authority and the concerned licensee shall accord its approval.
In plain terms: a prosumer with a distributed-generation facility of 25 kW or below is not required to seek concurrence from NEPRA / the Authority, and the concerned distribution licensee shall accord approval. That is not a guarantee that every application will be approved.
This amendment does not remove:
- sanctioned-load limits
- transformer capacity constraints
- technical feasibility requirements
- DISCO/licensee approval
- net billing
- other interconnection requirements
How are imports and exports billed?
- Imports: electricity supplied by the licensee to the prosumer is billed at the applicable consumer tariff.
- Exports: electricity supplied by the prosumer to the licensee is credited using the national average energy purchase price.
- NEPRA may revise the export-credit rate by notification; a revised rate is treated as incorporated into the agreement.
- Do not assume unused export will fully cancel your bill, that bills will fall to zero, or that export income is assured. Outcomes depend on consumption, generation, tariffs and export profile.
Who is eligible?
Applicants are typically three-phase 400 V or 11 kV domestic, commercial, industrial, agricultural, general-services or single-point bulk-supply consumers of a licensee who apply to interconnect a distributed-generation facility. Exact eligibility is determined under current NEPRA and DISCO requirements. For facilities of 25 kW or below, S.R.O. 1330(I)/2026 provides that Authority concurrence is not required and the concerned licensee accords approval.
The capacity of a proposed distributed-generation facility cannot exceed the consumer’s sanctioned load (unless NEPRA revises that limit by notification). Facilities may use solar, wind or biogas resources up to the capacity limits set in the regulations.
What can prevent approval?
- The licensee shall not entertain an application if distributed-generation capacity already connected to a particular distribution transformer has reached 80% of that transformer’s rated capacity.
- An applicant proposing 250 kW or more of installed capacity must conduct and submit a load-flow study through the licensee or a reputable PEC-registered consultant.
- The licensee may return an application after initial review if the proposed facility is not technically feasible, with reasons communicated to the applicant.
- Feasibility, interconnection approval, connection charges, metering and (where applicable) NEPRA concurrence remain with the relevant licensee/DISCO and NEPRA — not with any installer.
What documents and reviews are involved?
Applications are submitted to the licensee with the documents required under the regulations and the licensee’s process. Within five working days of receipt, the licensee acknowledges whether the application is complete. After a complete application, the licensee performs an initial review (to be completed within fifteen working days) to determine whether the applicant qualifies for interconnection, or may qualify subject to additional requirements.
Where requirements are met, the licensee and applicant enter into an agreement, the licensee issues a connection-charge estimate, and interconnection/metering work proceeds after payment — with billing under the net-billing arrangement commencing upon concurrence or approval, as the case may be, in accordance with the regulations. Metering must accurately measure flow in both directions (or use two meters that yield the same result).
New agreements run for five years from commissioning of the distributed-generation facility and may be renewed for further five-year terms by mutual consent of the licensee and the prosumer.
What happens to older agreements?
As amended by S.R.O. 547(I)/2026, regulation 21 protects existing approvals, licences or concurrences, and valid agreements executed under the repealed 2015 regulations before February 9, 2026. A distributed generator with such a valid agreement continues to be billed using the rate and mechanism provided under the repealed regulations until that agreement expires — not the new net-billing mechanism.
Under the same amendment, those savings as to rate and billing mechanism during the currency of an existing agreement cease to apply if there is a material modification of the distributed generation facility that changes its maximum electrical output.
New arrangements, and renewals after an agreement expires, are governed by the applicable current Prosumer Regulations (including net billing). New applicants are not entitled to legacy billing treatment. This page summarises the published text; it is not advice on any individual contract — confirm your status with your DISCO if needed.
How Sunchaser can assist
Sunchaser Energy Systems can help with system design suited to your load and roof, preparation of application documentation, technical coordination, and follow-up with the relevant DISCO. We provide application-documentation support and coordination support — not an approval service. We do not assure DISCO or NEPRA concurrence, export income, bill elimination or a fixed payback period.
For Lahore / LESCO consumers, see also net billing application support in Lahore.
Frequently asked questions
What changed in 2026?
NEPRA Prosumer Regulations 2026 came into force on February 9, 2026 and repealed the 2015 distributed-generation and net-metering regulations. New and renewed arrangements follow the 2026 rules, including net billing. S.R.O. 1330(I)/2026 (6 August 2026) later addressed concurrence for facilities of 25 kW or below.
How are imports and exports billed?
Electricity imported from the licensee is billed at the applicable consumer tariff. Eligible electricity exported by the prosumer is credited using the national average energy purchase price. NEPRA may revise the export-credit rate.
Who is eligible?
Eligibility depends on current NEPRA and DISCO requirements. Proposed distributed-generation capacity cannot exceed the consumer’s sanctioned load, and the licensee must find the interconnection technically feasible.
What can prevent approval?
An application may not be entertained if connected distributed generation on the distribution transformer has reached 80% of its rated capacity. Systems of 250 kW or more require a load-flow study. Feasibility, interconnection approval and (where applicable) NEPRA concurrence remain with the licensee/DISCO and NEPRA.
Do systems of 25 kW or below still need NEPRA concurrence?
S.R.O. 1330(I)/2026 (6 August 2026) provides that a prosumer having a distributed generation facility of 25 kW or below shall not be required to seek concurrence from the Authority and the concerned licensee shall accord its approval. This does not remove sanctioned-load limits, transformer capacity constraints, technical feasibility requirements, DISCO/licensee approval, net billing, or other interconnection requirements.
Official sources
Last reviewed: August 26, 2026
NEPRA (Prosumer) Regulations, 2026 — S.R.O. 251(I)/2026
Original Prosumer Regulations (effective February 9, 2026)
Open official NEPRA PDFS.R.O. 547(I)/2026 — amendment to Regulation 21
Official amendment to regulation 21 (notification dated April 2, 2026), including grandfathering of valid pre-commencement agreements
Open official NEPRA PDFS.R.O. 1330(I)/2026 — concurrence and licensee approval
Official amendment (notification dated August 6, 2026): a prosumer with a distributed-generation facility of 25 kW or below is not required to seek concurrence from the Authority; the concerned licensee shall accord its approval. Other published technical and interconnection requirements remain.
Open official NEPRA PDF
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