ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has removed the license requirement and Rs 1,000 per kilowatt fee for solar net-metering consumers with a capacity of less than 25 kilowatts.
This development comes two days after the Power Division, facing severe public criticism regarding the ‘taxing sunlight’, directed Nepra to remove this requirement.
Following the directive, a notification issued by Nepra said that the rules for consumers who generate and consume electricity, i.e., ‘prosumers’, have been amended.
“On the special directive of Federal Minister for Power Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari, NEPRA has, on the request of the Power Division, abolished the licensing requirement for solar consumers of 25 kW and below,” the Power Division said in a post on X.
وفاقی وزیر پاور سسردار اویس احمد خان لغاری کی خصوصی ہدایت پر پاور ڈویژن کی درخواست پر نیپرا نے 25کلوواٹ اور اس سے کم سولر صارفین کیلئے لائسنس کی شرط ختم کردی ۔شکریہ نیپرا pic.twitter.com/6o4TXpZxSf
— MOE- Power Division, Government of Pakistan (@MoWP15) April 28, 2026
“NEPRA has not only eliminated the licensing requirement for solar users of 15 kW and below but also abolished the fee,” it added.
The Nepra notification states that there would be no licensing fee on up to 25kW distributed generation. It said higher capacity prosumers would have to deposit a one-time fee of Rs 1,000 per kilowatt.
According to the notification, these amendments “shall be applicable and deemed to be effective from 9th February, 2026.”
On Sunday, the Power Division had said in a statement that it had formally requested NEPRA to review the elimination of fees and the removal of the licensing requirement for solar consumers with less than 25 and 25 kW on the directive of Minister for Energy Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari.
“It is requested that NEPRA consider reinstituting the earlier practices for distributed generation applications of 25 kW and below with respect to approvals, viz-a-viz the role of respective Distribution Companies and elimination of the application fee, consistent with the precedent set under previous regulations,” the Power Division wrote in a request sent to NEPRA.
