Comprehensive power tariff reduction package to be announced soon: PM 

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has reaffirmed that the government’s policy and priorities regarding solar energy remain unchanged.

He said that a comprehensive and effective strategy was being devised to reduce electricity tariffs and an official announcement in this regard will be made soon. 

Chairing a review meeting on power sector affairs, the prime minister emphasized that promoting renewable energy was the top priority of the government. 

He directed the authorities concerned to address all public misconceptions regarding the solarization policy by sharing facts and statistics. 

PM Sharif further clarified that there has been no shift in the government’s solar energy policies and priorities.

He instructed officials to expedite the resolution of all legal and procedural matters related to the liquidation of power generation companies. 

He also directed the officials to accelerate the privatisation process of power distribution companies, reiterating that a well-structured and effective package for reducing electricity tariffs is in the works and will be announced soon. 

The prime minister expressed confidence that reforms in the power sector would provide further relief to the public in electricity prices. 

For a more comprehensive energy sector strategy, he instructed improved coordination between the Power Division, Water Resources Division, and Petroleum Division.

It should be noted that the government earlier enacted significant changes to the net metering policy, leading to a 63 per cent reduction in benefits for new solar panel owners.

These changes mandate that the owners purchase electricity from the national grid at rates exceeding 550 percent of what they receive for selling power back to the grid.

Under the revised policy, rooftop solar panel owners will be compensated at Rs10 per unit for the electricity they sell but will have to purchase power at the current approximate rate of Rs65 per unit.