In a bid to reduce electricity bill surcharges, the Power Division is reportedly attempting to push the federal cabinet to lower the returns on solar net metering. Power Minister Awais Leghari will present a new plan to the federal cabinet in the coming weeks to increase the time it takes for solar net meter owners to break even on their investment.

Reports suggest that this move will result in the break-even for solar investments jumping from one and a half years to up to three years. Speaking at a news conference, the minister also highlighted that the Power Division had moved a summary for cabinet approval, which would lock in wheeling charges for the coming periods.

For reference, wheeling charges are fees levied by Discos for the use of their infrastructure to transport electricity from a generation source to the end consumer. Reports suggest that finalising the rules will allow Pakistan to move towards a competitive power trading market.

According to the minister, Islamabad is looking to offer over 6,000 megawatts (MW) of surplus power at competitive rates, particularly to ventures involving crypto mining and data centers. This is not the first time the government has attempted to provide surplus power to industries at lower rates, as in June 2025, Pakistani authorities reportedly attempted to get a waiver for surplus power capacity to be provided at reduced rates. As per reports, the waiver would have created provisions for 7000 megawatts (MW) of electricity.

Islamabad’s motivation behind the provision of power at lower rates lies in increasing economic output, as lower power rates for new entrants would yield higher industrial output.

However, the IMF did not support this scheme as it believes that the current state of the economy is a direct consequence of the distribution of similar allowances in the past. As such, the minister has revealed that negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the matter are currently in progress.

According to the minister, selling off excess power to industries while simultaneously controlling the growth of net-meter solar installations could give relief to the consumers. However, it merits a mention that despite these measures, electricity tariffs will not fall, only stabilising instead.

Analysts have outlined how the termination of power purchase agreements (PPA) could alleviate the issue of surplus power, reducing financial strain on consumers.