ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Tuesday withdrew, ab initio, the requirement for a licence, along with a Rs1,000 per kW licensing fee, for solar net-metering consumers with systems below 25 kilowatts.

The development comes two days after the Power Division, facing severe public criticism for “taxing sunlight,” directed Nepra to abolish the requirements.

In compliance with the directive, Nepra issued a notification stating that prosumer regulations had been amended and that there would be no licensing fee for up to 25kW of distributed generation. It said higher capacity prosumers would have to deposit a one-time fee of Rs1,000 per kilowatt.

“This notification shall be applicable and deemed to be effective from Feb 9,” the order said.

Nepra restores 2015 rules for small net-metering users

Earlier in the day, Nepra member Amina Ahmed said the regulator was considering the government’s proposal but could not hold a press conference or “leak policy decisions” at public hearings.

Then, within hours, Nepra issued the notification in compliance with the Power Division’s directives.

On Sunday, the Power Division said in a statement that it had “formally asked” Nepra to abolish the requirement, following instructions from Power Minister Awais Leghari. It recalled previously alerting Nepra to the negative effects of enforcing the licence and fee requirements and requesting that the regulator align its decision with the old regulations.

For his part, Mr Leghari had stated in a post on X: “Our government is pro-solar, pro-consumer, and committed to clean energy. We want to remove unnecessary barriers, reduce costs, and provide as much relief as possible to the people of Pakistan.”

Under the previous 2015 regulations, distributed generation facilities of 25kW or below did not require a licence from Nepra. Applications were processed directly by power distribution companies (Discos) without any fee, serving as a major fiscal incentive for residential users.

However, the new Prosumer Regulations centralised the approval authority with Nepra and imposed an application fee even on small users.

The Power Division noted in its Sunday statement that the Private Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB) had flagged the regulatory shift and requested Nepra to maintain consistency with the earlier approvals regime for systems of 25 kW or below.

Additionally, during public hearings, the Pakistan Solar Association, Primage (Pvt) Ltd, the Pakistan Alternative Energy Association, and Siddiq Renewable Energy (Pvt) Ltd had formally objected to the changes, arguing that removing approval authority from Discos would create unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles.

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2026