Pakistan’s solar market did not collapse overnight, and it will not collapse because of net billing. But it has changed structurally, and pretending otherwise would be irresponsible for any serious solar EPC operating in the country.

On 9 February 2026, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority enforced the Prosumer Regulations, 2026, formally replacing net metering with net billing for all new consumers and, after contract expiry, for existing ones as well.

Under this framework, electricity exported to the grid is no longer adjusted unit-for-unit against consumption; it is purchased by DISCOs at the national average energy purchase price, while imports are billed at full retail tariffs.

For customers, the question is no longer ideological. It is mathematical.

Under net metering, seasonal overproduction in winter could meaningfully offset summer bills. Under net billing, exports still matter, but self-consumption matters more. The system now rewards households and businesses that design solar intelligently rather than aggressively oversizing purely for export.

This distinction is critical.

The real driver behind Pakistan’s solar adoption was never “profit from exports.” It was bill volatility. Peak and off-peak tariffs crossing Rs40–46 per unit, layered with fuel charges, quarterly adjustments, surcharges, electricity duty, and sales tax, pushed consumers toward self-generation simply to stabilize costs. That reality remains unchanged, as evidenced by actual consumer bills attached and reviewed.

What has changed is the strategy.

Solar systems designed under net billing must prioritize:
• daytime load matching
• inverter efficiency
• export-aware sizing
• optional storage planning (not panic battery buying)

At Zorays Solar Pakistan, our responsibility is not to sell nostalgia for net metering. It is to design systems that remain viable under the law as it exists today, not as customers wish it to be.

Importantly, net billing does not eliminate solar’s value. It recalibrates it. A well-designed system still reduces grid dependency, caps exposure to tariff shocks, and protects households from future rate escalations that remain structurally baked into Pakistan’s power sector.

What customers must avoid is misinformation-driven overreaction. Going fully off-grid without technical planning is expensive and unnecessary for most users. Likewise, abandoning solar entirely ignores the reality that grid tariffs will not reverse to historical lows.

The era of careless oversizing is over.
The era of engineering-led solar has begun.

And solar, even under net billing, remains a rational hedge in an irrational power economy.