Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Senator Barrister Ali Zafar has strongly criticized the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority’s recent announcement regarding net billing, describing it as a major setback for the public.
He stated that NEPRA would purchase electricity from consumers at Rs11 per unit while the same electricity would be sold back to the public at Rs40 per unit, questioning the fairness of such a policy.
Ali Zafar said the government had promised benefits to citizens who installed solar systems, prompting many people to take loans and invest their savings in solar panels worth hundreds of thousands of rupees. He argued that the recent policy change would now cause significant financial losses to those consumers.
He further stated that the federal minister had claimed the government could not act against the public and that NEPRA was an independent body responsible for the decision. However, according to him, NEPRA is not entirely independent and formulates policies in line with government directives.
The PTI senator also pointed out that Independent Power Producers are reportedly being paid even when they do not generate electricity, while solar consumers are facing disadvantages. He demanded that the NEPRA chairman be summoned to the Senate and said that if the government considers itself powerless in this matter, it should introduce legislation to address the issue.
