ISLAMABAD (APP) - Minister for Power Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari on Thursday informed the National Assembly that Pakistan will become a 90 percent clean energy country in terms of power generation by 2034.
Responding to a calling attention notice moved by Sharmila Faruqui in the National Assembly regarding the recently notified Prosumer Regulations — replacing net metering with net billing, he said that 55 percent of the electricity generated in 2024–25 came from clean energy sources.
He further said that under international commitments, Pakistan is required to increase its clean energy share to 60 percent by 2030, expressing confidence that this target will be achieved this year.
He said the recent amendments to net metering regulations have been under discussion for the past several months and were made in accordance with the legal authority of the regulator.
The minister said the issue had been circulating on social media and in sections of the media for the past 25 days. He said that a resolution had also been presented in this regard in the Senate, which was ultimately rejected.
Leghari clarified that the matter was not new and had first emerged around nine to ten months ago, when formal discussions began in Pakistan.
During deliberations, the proposal was taken to the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), which approved it. However, when the matter was presented before the federal cabinet for ratification, the prime minister directed that the proposal be reconsidered, providing an opportunity to review its basis before proceeding further.
The minister recalled that the net metering system was introduced in 2017 during the Pakistan Muslim League-N government.
He added that he himself was overseeing the ministry at the time and that the initial regulations were introduced during his tenure.
Since then, he said, the regulator has amended the net metering regulations four to five times, exercising its constitutional authority.
He explained that it is within the regulator’s legal powers to revise regulations, while the government retains the right to file an appeal or seek a review if it deems the changes inappropriate. The latest amendment, he said, is likely the fourth or fifth revision since 2017.