Net metering is now net billing.
What NEPRA's Prosumer Regulations 2026 changed for solar owners in Pakistan, and what stays the same for existing agreements.
GridMarshal, November 2026. As of November 2026.
New rules from 9 February 2026.
NEPRA replaced the 2015 net metering rules with the Prosumer Regulations, 2026.
The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) notified the NEPRA (Prosumer) Regulations, 2026 as S.R.O. 251(I)/2026 on 9 February 2026. NEPRA's notification says they came into force at once.
The same notification repealed the NEPRA (Alternative and Renewable Energy) Distributed Generation and Net Metering Regulations, 2015. Those were the rules that net metered solar systems were connected under.
The biggest change is the billing. New prosumers, the customers who both buy from and sell to the grid, are billed under a net billing arrangement instead of net metering.
Imports and exports now have different prices.
A unit you buy and a unit you sell are no longer worth the same.
Regulation 14 of the Prosumer Regulations sets the bill for each billing cycle. The distribution company bills the units it supplies to you at the applicable tariff. It credits the units you supply to it at the national average energy purchase price.
If your credit is larger than your bill, the regulations say the difference is credited to your next billing cycle or paid to you quarterly. NEPRA can revise the export rate by notification while your agreement runs.
Note the name of the export rate. NEPRA's original February 2026 text referred to agreements under the old rules as billed at the national average power purchase price. New exports are credited at the national average energy purchase price, which is a different price.
- Units you import are billed at the applicable tariff.
- Units you export are credited at the national average energy purchase price.
- A surplus is carried to the next bill or paid quarterly.
Old agreements keep their terms, for now.
An amendment in April 2026 protected agreements signed under the 2015 rules.
NEPRA amended regulation 21 through S.R.O. 547(I)/2026, dated 2 April 2026, with effect from 9 February 2026. A distributed generator with a valid agreement under the repealed 2015 rules is billed at the rate and under the mechanism of those rules until the term of that agreement ends.
That protection has one clear condition. According to the amendment, it stops if the system is materially modified in a way that changes its maximum electrical output.
Regulation 21 also says that when such an agreement expires, any extension follows the new regulations.
- Before you add panels or inverters to a system on an old agreement, check whether the change alters its maximum output.
- Note the expiry date of each existing agreement, because renewal moves it to net billing.
The rules for new connections.
What NEPRA's regulations require before a new system can sell to the grid.
- Who: three-phase 400 V or 11 kV consumers of a distribution company, including domestic, commercial, industrial and agricultural consumers.
- What: solar, wind or biogas systems up to 1 MW.
- Size: the system may not exceed the sanctioned load of the premises.
- Studies: systems of 250 kW or above need a load flow study.
- Transformer limit: no new application is taken once connected generation on a distribution transformer reaches 80% of its rated capacity.
- Term: the agreement runs five years and can be renewed by mutual consent.
- Approval: NEPRA's concurrence is needed, with a one-time fee of Rs 1,000 per kW under Schedule IV. Since S.R.O. 1330(I)/2026 of 6 August 2026, systems of 25 kW or below are approved by the distribution company instead.
- Changes later: a fresh concurrence is needed before any change to the system's technical parameters.
What this means on site.
Under net billing, how the energy is used matters as much as how much is made.
For operations and maintenance (O&M) companies and EPC firms (engineering, procurement and construction), the work changes in a few practical ways. A unit used on site avoids the full tariff. A unit exported earns the lower export credit. So the split between self-use and export now drives the value of a plant.
The regulations also set technical limits. Grid-connected inverters must comply with UL 1741, and regulation 11 permits a variation of plus or minus 5% in voltage and plus or minus 1% in frequency. When the grid moves outside the inverter's settings, the plant disconnects, which is the subject of our article on grid trips
- Track import and export separately for every site, not only the net figure.
- Know which agreement each site is on, old or new, and when it ends.
- Check before you expand a system, so a change does not end an old agreement's protection.
Every site's numbers in one place.
The GridMarshal platform keeps generation, meter data and value side by side.
- Meters and AMR meter data next to inverter output for each plant
- Generation and consumption together for industrial sites
- Unit prices by month in finance, so income follows the rate you are paid
- Daily and monthly PDF reports and Excel export at any time
As of November 2026. This article reflects NEPRA's notifications published up to November 2026. It explains the rules in plain English and is not legal advice.
Rules change. Check the latest NEPRA notification before you decide.
Sources, all published by NEPRA:
See import, export and output for every site.
A walkthrough of GridMarshal with your own plants in mind.