KARACHI: Pakistan Peoples’ Party MNA Sharmila Farooqui voiced serious concern over bids to end net metering policy for rooftop solar panels based on cheaper power generation and replace it with gross metering aimed at selling highly expensive and unaffordable grid electricity to consumers.

Abolition of net-metering would put heavy financial burden on those consumers who are using net metering policy, hence, such plan is anti-people, she said in statement. She said that there was no need to end existing solar net metering policy, so discussion and attempts in this regard should be ended forthwith.  Sharmila said that government and its coalition partners were already in favour of boosting solar energy to save money and protect environment, hence, ending net-metering would be negativity and blow to public and small investors. She said that PML-N government had launched solar net metering in 2017 and now over 100,000 solar connections are on net metering, therefore, ending this policy would inflict heavy financial loss on those who had made huge investments in it. “One of primary advantages of net metering is potential for significant cost savings on electricity bills. By earning credits for excess energy generation, homeowners can offset their energy costs during periods of lower solar production.”