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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) announced on Tuesday that it has abolished the licensing requirement for solar consumers with systems of 25 kilowatts or less.
The development takes place days after the Power Division formally requested the country’s energy regulator to waive licensing fees and requirements for solar consumers with systems of 25 kW or less.
Power Minister Sardar Awais Leghari said the move was designed to provide relief to the masses and remove unnecessary burdens.
“NEPRA has removed the requirement to obtain a license from the regulator for solar consumers of up to 25 kilowatts,” the Power Division said in a statement.
It said NEPRA had taken the decision after Leghari’s directives.
As per the Power Division’s notification, for solar users who have more than 25kW of distributed generation facility, NEPRA will charge them Rs1,000 [$3.59] per kW as a one-time fee.
The NEPRA (Prosumers) Regulations 2026 centralized the approval process under the regulator, imposing a licensing fee even on small-scale solar installations up to 25kW.
Under the previous regulations, a decentralized model was in place, according to which distributed generation facilities of 25kW or below did not require a license from NEPRA. Applications for solar consumers were processed directly by power distribution companies (DISCOS) without any fee.
Solar energy bodies, such as the Pakistan Solar Association, had objected to the 2026 regulations by NEPRA. They had argued that stripping DISCOs of approval authority created unnecessary hurdles.
Pakistan has seen rapid growth in rooftop solar installations in recent years, driven by high electricity tariffs and frequent power outages in the country. However, recent regulatory changes have drawn sharp criticism from consumers and industry groups.
Solar power grew from four percent of the energy mix in 2021 to over 14 percent–25 percent in 2024-2025, official figures show.
Driven by skyrocketing grid tariffs, Pakistan became one of the world’s top new solar adopters, importing roughly 22 gigawatts (GW) of solar panels in 2024 alone.
According to industry data, tens of thousands of new solar connections have been added annually across Pakistan, significantly reducing demand from the grid during daylight hours.
