Pakistan’s industry proposes donating surplus solar power to poor
Karachi industrialists pitch voluntary framework to redirect excess rooftop solar units to low-income households, easing subsidies and tariff pressure
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (MNTV) — Karachi-based industrialists have proposed a not-for-profit framework to allow consumers with rooftop solar systems to donate surplus electricity to low-income households, a move they say could reduce government subsidies, ease industrial tariffs and cut power sector losses.
The proposed Social Net-Metering Unit Donation Framework (SNUDA) has been submitted to the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority and may be opened for public and stakeholder comments on Friday, according to Dawn.
Originally conceived by business leader and former Karachi Stock Exchange managing director Moin M. Fudda, the proposal is being advanced by the Korangi Association of Trade and Industry.
It seeks to create a voluntary, regulator-supervised mechanism allowing net-metering consumers to donate excess electricity units, measured in kilowatt-hours, to poor households through certified not-for-profit organizations.
KATI President Muhammad Ikram Rajput said the framework would not alter existing net-metering rights or settlement mechanisms, but would serve as an optional social extension to the current system.
Under the proposal, surplus units would be transferred as “Social Net Metering Units” and credited directly to the electricity bills of eligible beneficiaries without monetization, trading or commercial sale. The process would be digitally tracked, auditable and subject to regulatory oversight, Rajput said.
KATI said the framework could deliver three system-wide benefits: reducing the government’s fiscal subsidy burden by replacing subsidized electricity with donated units; easing cross-subsidy pressure on industry, estimated at Rs3 to Rs4 per unit; and improving recoveries by making bills more affordable for vulnerable consumers, reducing arrears and theft-related losses.
The proposal calls for donations of 10 to 200 units per billing cycle per donor, with monthly caps and safeguards including CNIC-linked verification and a ban on self-credit. Beneficiaries would initially include widows and people with disabilities from low-income households registered with Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy-certified nonprofits.
Donated units would be treated as social energy credits, separate from financial net-metering settlements, and would not attract wheeling, transmission or distribution charges. A regulator-supervised digital platform would manage donor selection, unit allocation, billing integration and audit reporting.
KATI said Pakistan’s power sector faces high tariffs, rising subsidies and increasing cross-subsidy pressure on industry, while surplus rooftop solar generation is currently settled through financial credits without addressing affordability or equity concerns.
“This framework converts surplus rooftop solar generation into a social, fiscal and system-stabilizing instrument,” Rajput said, urging Nepra to consider it as a pilot project aligned with social welfare and fiscal discipline.
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