Due to the additional cost of electricity, all the records of installing solar panels across the country were broken.
Lahore ranked first, Islamabad second and Karachi third in installing solar panels
According to Nepra’s State of Industry Report of FY23, Lahore is the top among the most solar panel and net meter installers across the country. More than 19,000 customers installed net meters in LESCO in fiscal year 2023.
Citizens of Islamabad stood second in net metering. ISCO installed 14 thousand 958 net meters in the financial year 2023. Karachi, the country’s largest city, ranked third in net metering. The number of net meters in Karachi was 4512 in FY23. In FY24, it has increased by almost 50% to around 6300 so far.
A total of 48 thousand 689 net meters were installed in the fiscal year 2023 across the country. The number of commercial net meters across the country is 4 thousand 229, while the number of industrial users is 2 thousand 303. Most of the net meters installed are for residential customers.
Industrial areas have also seen a doubling in the number of net meters installed. Due to the installation of a large number of net meters in Karachi, it has not been possible to install more net metering in some areas. These areas include DHA, Gulshan Iqbal, Muhammad Ali Society, PECHS, Clifton, Korangi, FB Area, and North Karachi.
According to sources, PMTs in these areas have completed 80% capacity. According to Nepra rules, net meters can be installed on PMT up to 80% load, but net meters cannot be installed at more than that. According to NEPRA rules, the user has to pay additional charges for increasing capacity.
As the power tariff increased by 155% in three years, domestic and small industries are shifting to solar energy. The country imported solar panels worth 2.1 billion dollars from China last year. Pakistan is the world’s 7th largest importer of Chinese solar. In the year 2024, Pakistan has imported 17 GW of solar panels. The prices of solar panels have been increased arbitrarily in the local market for two weeks.
Two weeks ago, the price of 585 watt-by-fish per panel was reduced to 16,000 rupees. Due to the shortage of panels, the price of 585 watts per fish has been increased by Rs. 2250. In the market, 585 watts per fish solar panel is being sold at Rs. 18250.
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