What happened
The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Tuesday withdrew ab initio the requirement of a licence along with a Rs1,000 per kW licencing fee for solar net-metering consumers with systems below 25 kilowatts.
The development came two days after the Power Division, facing severe public criticism for “taxing sunlight”, directed Nepra to abolish the requirements. Complying with the directive, Nepra issued a notification stating that prosumers’ regulations had been amended and there would be no licencing fee on up to 25kW 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 February 9, 2026,” the order said.
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 it had “formally asked” Nepra to abolish the requirement on the instructions of Power Minister Awais Leghari. It recalled previously alerting Nepra about the negative effects of enforcing the licence and licencing fee requirement, as well as requesting the regulator to align its decision with old regulations. 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.”
Why it matters
Under the previous 2015 regulations, distributed generation facilities of 25kW or below did not require a licence from Nepra, and applications were processed directly by power distribution companies without any fee, serving as a major fiscal incentive for residential users. The newer Prosumer Regulations centralised the approval authority with Nepra and imposed an application fee even on small users.
The Power Division noted that the Private Power and Infrastructure Board had flagged the regulatory shift and requested Nepra to maintain consistency with the earlier approvals regime for systems of 25 kW or below. 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. The Power Division had warned that the new approach risked slowing the national drive toward alternative energy adoption, a trend KhabarWire examined in March in its report on Pakistan’s solar boom.
What is still uncertain
The notification applies to systems below 25 kilowatts; larger prosumers still face the one-time Rs1,000 per kilowatt fee. The reports did not say whether fees already collected from small users since February would be refunded, nor how quickly distribution companies would resume processing applications directly.
Sources & reporting notes
This is a synthesis of published material, not eyewitness reporting. Sources were reviewed on 2026-04-28.
- Primary source — Dawn: “Nepra abolishes licence requirement, fee for small solar users”28 April 2026 · Report on the notification, the Power Division’s directive, the history of the regulations and industry objections.
