What changed in 2026
In February 2026, NEPRA moved new solar consumers from net metering to net billing. The mechanism is different in a way that matters. Under old net metering, an exported unit offset an imported unit almost one-for-one — the grid acted like a free battery. Under net billing there is no swap: the utility buys your surplus at a low buyback rate (widely reported around PKR 11–13 per unit, down from roughly PKR 22–27) and separately sells you grid power at the full retail tariff.
Existing net-metering agreements from before the change were protected, so this primarily affects new systems — but it reshapes the best way to run any system.
| Old net metering | Net billing (2026) | |
|---|---|---|
| Your exported unit | Offset an imported unit ≈ 1:1 | Bought at a low rate (~PKR 11–13) |
| Your imported unit | Netted against exports | Charged at the full retail tariff |
| Best strategy | Export freely — the grid is a “battery” | Maximise self-consumption; shift loads to sun |
| Value of a lost unit | About the export credit | Higher — you re-buy it at retail |
| Existing customers | — | Pre-9-Feb-2026 agreements grandfathered |
The new maths: self-consumption wins
Put the two numbers side by side. A unit you export earns only the low buyback rate. A unit you consume yourself avoids buying that same unit from the grid at the full retail price — which is several times higher. So under net billing, a self-consumed unit is worth far more than an exported one.
The strategic consequence is simple: the goal is no longer to push as much as possible to the grid, but to use as much of your own solar as you can, when you generate it.
Why every lost unit now costs more
Here is the part owners miss. When your solar loses output — to dust on the panels, a weak string, or an inverter that keeps tripping — you do not just lose a cheap exported unit. You lose a unit you would otherwise have consumed, which means you now buy that unit back from the grid at full retail. Under net billing, the cost of underperformance goes up.
That is why performance discipline — cleaning, inspection, catching a dead string early — has a higher return now than it did under net metering. The lost energy is simply worth more.
Where automation earns its keep
The other lever is timing. If self-consumption is what pays, then shifting flexible loads — pumps, heavy machinery, cooling — into peak sunlight hours directly increases the share of solar you use instead of export. That is an automation problem: intelligent scheduling and switching so the big loads run when the sun is strongest.
This is the logic behind WattEY’s automation and energy-management layer, and behind pairing it with the inspection that keeps generation high in the first place. Under net billing, generate well and use it well — both matter more than they used to.
