KARACHI: Electricity fed back into Pakistan’s power grid by rooftop solar users has more than doubled over the past year, according to new sector data reviewed by Arab News on Tuesday, as households and businesses increasingly turn to solar panels to reduce bills and avoid frequent power cuts.

Net metering allows consumers with solar panels to sell excess electricity back to the national grid, offsetting their monthly utility charges. When their panels produce more power than they use, the surplus flows into the grid. When production falls short, they draw electricity back from the utility. The system is designed to encourage small-scale renewable generation and reduce pressure on the national power network.

New figures from the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA), compiled by AHL Research, show that net metering units (excluding Karachi) rose from around 80 gigawatt-hour (GWh) per month in late 2024 to an average of about 174 GWh per month in mid-2025, with output peaking above 300 GWh in April during high summer sunlight. Net metering’s share of Pakistan’s total electricity generation also climbed, rising from about 0.6 percent to roughly 2–3 percent at peak periods.

The surge comes as Pakistan faces rising electricity tariffs, driven in part by fuel costs and capacity payments, and recurring grid instability. In major cities, rooftop solar adoption has accelerated among middle-income households, factories, retailers and small office buildings seeking to manage costs and avoid outages.

Analysts say the growth in rooftop solar is now material enough to affect the daytime load profile on the national grid, particularly during summer afternoons.

The expansion has also revived debate over the future of Pakistan’s Net Metering Regulations. Power distribution companies argue that increasing solar feed-in reduces their ability to recover fixed network costs, while consumer and industry groups warn that cutting net metering incentives could slow renewable adoption and push more users toward off-grid and battery-based solutions.

Pakistan’s experience mirrors trends in India, Bangladesh, Kenya, South Africa and Brazil, where high electricity prices and falling solar panel costs have driven rapid domestic and commercial rooftop generation. Some countries have adjusted tariff structures to balance grid stability with the need to encourage renewable energy.

Government agencies in Pakistan are now evaluating options to integrate higher levels of decentralized solar into the grid, including distribution network upgrades, time-of-day pricing and reforms to capacity charging models.