LAHORE – Prices of a complete solar system have witnessed a whooping decrease as the government has decided to decrease the buyback rate for solar users to Rs10 per unit.
Reports said the prices of solar system has dropped by up to Rs175,000 as the decrease in the buyback rate has discouraged people.
The price of a 5 kW solar system is approximately between Rs500,000 to Rs550,000, while the price of a 7 kW system is close to Rs600,000.
It comes after solar panel prices saw significant cut in their prices in market following the government’s decision to change the solar net metering policy.
Earlier this month, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) has lowered the purchase price of electricity under net metering.
Solar consumers will now be paid Rs 10 per unit instead of Rs 27, but this applies only to new solar panel installations.
According to the Finance Ministry, the decision aligns with current market conditions.
ECC stated that new solar users will receive electricity from the national grid at off-peak rates.
They noted that solar power has impacted efforts to reduce grid electricity prices, with 80% of solar users belonging to nine major cities.
A briefing to the ECC revealed that by December 2024, solar users shifted a burden of Rs 159 billion onto grid consumers — a figure projected to rise to Rs 4,240 billion by December 2034.
The number of solar consumers reached 283,000 in December 2024, up from 226,440 in October, while solar power generation increased to 4,321 MW in December 2024 from 321 MW in 2021.
