LAHORE – A major relief is in sight for thousands of solar consumers as LESCO begins correcting bills issued under net billing despite valid net metering agreements. The move could reverse erroneous charges and restore billing according to the consumers’ original agreements.
LESCO launched review and correction process after discovering cases where consumers who had applied for net metering by February 8 and signed agreements under the net metering policy were subsequently billed under the different net billing mechanism.
The billing switch reportedly caused higher electricity charges and financial losses for affected solar users. Following complaints from consumers, LESCO began examining the relevant applications, agreements and billing records. The review found that in some cases, the connection commissioning date was used as the basis for determining the applicable billing mechanism. As a result, consumers whose applications and agreements fell under the net metering policy were billed according to net billing instead.
LESCO now started revising such bills and restoring net metering-based calculations for consumers whose agreements qualify under the applicable policy.
The move could provide significant relief to thousands of solar users, particularly those who were charged more because of the incorrect billing method. Previous bills involving excess or erroneous charges are also expected to be adjusted based on the available records and applicable agreements.
The issue is crucial because net metering and net billing calculate electricity exported to and consumed from the grid differently, meaning a change between the two systems can substantially affect a solar consumer’s monthly bill.
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