By Syed Marwan Shah ISLAMABAD, May 23, (INP-WealthPK): The net metering reforms suggested by the Board of Investment (BOI) have helped reduce the aggregate monetary cost for consumers to Rs180 million and reduced the processing time for new connections by 18 days, reports WealthPK. The BOI proposed two reforms in the net metering regulations that were implemented successfully. These were removal of three-phase connections and removal of generation license from the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) for net metering up to 25 kW. These reforms have greatly shortened the time and reduced the cost of getting a net metering connection. Speaking at a webinar arranged by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) Dr. Ahmed Waqar Qasim, senior research economist at the PIDE, said the elimination of condition of a three-phase connection for reverse metering had saved the processing time and reduced the cost up to Rs15,000. Earlier, only 3 percent of consumers were eligible for net metering connections but after the BOI reforms, 100 percent of consumers are eligible now. The aggregate monetary cost has also dropped by Rs180 million, Dr Ahmed said. Moreover, under the second phase of reforms, elimination of generation license from the NEPRA for net metering up to 25kW has reduced the regulatory cost by Rs170 million and reduced processing by 18 days, he added.   Talking to WealthPK, Syed Mujahid Shah, a senior electrical engineer at the National Engineering Service Pakistan (NESPAK), said net metering electricity connection was the need of the hour to add excess power to the national grid and considerably reduce the burden of monthly bills through solar and wind energy. The photovoltaic (PV) solar panels installed on a house can generate and sell excess electricity by feeding it to the national grid. The excess electricity can be adjusted against the actual electricity used in the corresponding month, thus reducing the burden of monthly electricity bills on a consumer’s pocket. This facility will also be extended to the rural areas, he added. Mujahid said the overall contribution of solar and wind resources in Pakistan in 2021 was over 1,500MW which was equal to around 2 percent of the total generation and could be increased through reforms in the reverse metering facility. Lastly, renewable energy is just 4 percent of the total capacity, while the World Bank’s Variable Renewable Energy Integration and Planning Study states that Pakistan’s target is to increase its renewable energy sources – solar and wind power – to 20 percent of its electricity mix in 2025, and 30 percent up to 2030, equivalent to around 24,000 Megawatts. The WB’s study also shows that slightly higher penetrations of solar and wind would be economically beneficial.