Nepra study says DISCOS power units' consumption on decline

ISLAMABAD: The sale of the distribution companies’ electricity units has declined owing to the consumers’ increasing interest in solar energy, sources said.

“The decreasing units of the sale of DISCOS electricity would have impact over the capacity charges,” according to sources.

The power consumers across the country increasingly installing solar panels to avoid the expensive grid electricity.

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) in its ‘state of industry report’ said that Lahore has been on the forefront in installation of solar panels and net-meters.

“Over 19,000 consumers of the Lahore Electric Supply Company have installed net meters,” according to report. In Islamabad 14,958 consumers have installed net meters, report stated.

A surging trend being witnessed in Karachi this year with 50 percent increase in net metering. “The number of net-metering consumers in Karachi has reached to 6,300 this year,” Nepra report shared.

It is to be mentioned here that the Senate Committee on Climate Change and Environmental Coordination was informed in a hearing recently that the country will import 12,000 megawatts of solar panels this year.

An earlier media report citing a study said that Pakistan imported around 15 GW solar panels worth $2.1 billion from China over the past fiscal year.

“Contributing to this transition is the increased electricity tariffs—up by 155 percent over three years—driving high consumption households and industries to shift to solar energy solutions,” according to the study.