ISLAMABAD: Tens of thousands of solar power users with on-grid systems and green meters have been shocked to see their current month’s electricity bills, which state that they must replace their green meters with Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) meters within three months to ensure the continuation of net metering.

Consumers who have invested up to Rs1 million or more are being told to purchase the AMR meters for Rs52,000, while their existing green meters, which they had earlier bought, will be taken away by the Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco).

A number of consumers have approached the Prime Minister’s Portal, seeking relief and requesting the government to stop Iesco from forcing them to purchase new meters.

However, an Iesco official said that although it was principally decided to replace the meters, the implementation has been temporarily put on hold, and a policy will soon be announced in this regard.

Consumers approach PM Portal against demand to replace meters worth Rs52,000 each

It is worth mentioning that a green meter is a bi-directional smart meter that tracks both the electricity a solar-powered home uses and the surplus energy it sends back to the national grid through net metering.

After every three months, the consumption and production are calculated, and the amount is either debited or credited accordingly.

Solar consumer Muhammad Naeem told Dawn that he was shocked to see the bill, which mentioned that he must replace his green meter with an AMR meter.

“I visited the Iesco office and was told that a demand notice worth Rs52,000 would be issued to me and that I would have to pay the amount. I installed the solar system less than a year ago, investing a little under a million rupees. I have a number of questions: is it mandatory for all green meter holders to get the meter replaced with an AMR meter?” he said.

Another consumer, Maqbood Ahmed, said that when he visited the Iesco office, he was informed that the replacement would make it easier for Iesco staff, as they would no longer need to visit for meter reading or calculations.

When this scribe visited the Iesco office in Sector I-10, an official who introduced himself as Mr Amir said that a large number of solar consumers were visiting the office after seeing the instructions on their bills.

“However, we don’t have a clear policy yet. What I can tell you is that demand notices will be issued, and consumers will have to pay Rs52,000 for the new meter. We don’t know if the meter charges can be deducted from the bills. Consumers should wait for the final policy,” he said in response to queries.

When contacted, an official at Iesco’s Monitoring and Complaint Cell, identified as Mr Imran, said that although some SDOs had issued demand notices, the process had been put on hold as many consumers claimed their meters were still under warranty and questioned why they should bear the cost.

“Several people have also approached the PM Portal, and their applications have been forwarded to Iesco. Therefore, it has been decided to formulate a policy on the matter,” he explained.

Iesco spokesperson Raja Asim, while talking to Dawn, said that the decision to replace green meters with AMR meters was taken for implementation across the country, not by Iesco alone.

He assured that a policy would be framed keeping in view the consumers’ concerns and that all necessary steps would be taken to provide relief.

Published in Dawn, November 2nd, 2025