Due to the increasing electricity prices, all records for installing solar power systems have been broken across the country. According to NEPRA’s State of Industry report for the fiscal year 2023, Lahore leads the country in the installation of solar panels and net meters. In the fiscal year 2023, over 19,000 consumers in LESCO (Lahore Electric Supply Company) installed net meters.
Islamabad ranks second in net metering, with 14,958 consumers installing net meters in IESCO (Islamabad Electric Supply Company) during the fiscal year 2023. Karachi, the largest city in the country, comes in third place for net metering, with 4,512 net meters installed in fiscal year 2023. In fiscal year 2024, there has been approximately a 50% increase, bringing the total close to 6,300.
Overall, 48,689 net meters were installed across the country in the fiscal year 2023. The number of commercial net meters nationwide stands at 4,229, while industrial consumers number 2,303. The majority of those installing net meters are residential consumers. A doubling in the number of net meters has also been observed in industrial areas. In Karachi, the large number of net meters installed has made it impossible to add more net metering in certain areas, including DHA, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Muhammad Ali Society, PECHS, Clifton, Korangi, FB Area, and North Karachi.
Sources indicate that PMTs (Pole-Mounted Transformers) in these areas have already reached 80% capacity. Under NEPRA regulations, net meters can only be installed on PMTs up to 80% load; exceeding this limit does not allow for additional net meters. To increase capacity under NEPRA regulations, consumers have to incur extra costs.
Over the past three years, power tariffs have increased by 155%, leading households and small industries to shift to solar energy. Last year, Pakistan imported solar panels worth $2.1 billion from China, making it the seventh-largest importer of Chinese solar products globally. In 2024, Pakistan imported 17 gigawatts of solar panels. The local market has seen an arbitrary increase in solar panel prices over the past two weeks.
Two weeks ago, the price of 585-watt bifacial panels dropped to 16,000 PKR. However, a shortage has led to an unjustified increase of 2,250 PKR in the price of 585-watt bifacial panels, which are now being sold for 18,250 PKR in the market.
