Pakistan Solar Net Metering Installations Have More Than Doubled Since Last Year

[Riaz Haq]

Nearly 4,000 new net metering licenses have been issued in Pakistan in the July-September quarter, up from 2,000 in the same quarter last year. Vast majority of these are for solar photo-voltaic installation. Net metering solar installations are in addition to the rapidly growing off-grid solar panels across Pakistan. Higher electric utility (DISCO) bills and lower cost of solar panels appear to be driving the adoption of solar in Pakistan. Net metering allows users with private renewable energy production plants to connect to the electric grid and sell excess power to the local electric utility or DISCOs such as K-Electric, LESCO or IESCO in Pakistan.   

Net Metering Installations in Pakistan. Source: Jeremy Higgs

This year has seen the fastest growth in net energy metering (NEM) growth since Pakistan launched its first NEM policy in 2015, according to data shared by Jeremy Higgs, director of operations for Islamabad-based EcoEnergy.  Total number of net metering installations in Pakistan is about 16,000, according to Jeremy Higgs. National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) issued 3,334 net metering licenses with total installed capacity of 56.86 megawatt under the net-metering regime during 2019-20, according to an October, 2020 news report.    

Net Metering Installations By DISCOs in Pakistan. Source: Jeremy Higgs

Surprisingly, Pakistan's biggest city Karachi is lagging significantly behind Lahore and Islamabad in net metering licenses. Nearly 25% of all net metering licenses in Pakistan were issued by LESCO (Lahore Electric Supply Company) in the July-September quarter. IESCO (Islamabad Electric Supply Company) has handed out 20% and K-Electric (Karachi Electric) 15%. 

Top 10 Solar Energy Countries in 2017. Source: USAID

Back in 2017, Pakistan was ranked among the top 10 countries for investment in solar PV projects below 1 MW. Pakistan PSLM/HIES 2018-19 survey results revealed that 15.2% of all households are using solar panels as a source of energy for their homes.  

Pakistan Solar Panel Imports in Millions of US Dollars. Source: FBS...

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province leads the nation with 40% of all households using solar energy. Rural Pakistan is embracing solar power at a faster rate than Urban Pakistan. Adoption of solar in rural areas of KP is at 43%, Sindh 33.9%,  Balochistan 20.4% and Punjab 7.9%. Rapid decline in cost of solar panels appears to be driving the adoption of solar in Pakistan's rural areas where grid power is either unavailable or unreliable.

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[Riaz Haq]

#Solar #energy shines with opportunity for #China, #Pakistan. Key initiatives: solar village electrification for 40,000 villages & 1.1 million solar powered pumps in rural Pakistan. #agriculture #electricity #renewableenergy #Renewables https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202110/01/WS61567d22a310cdd39bc6cc3...


Pakistan's population of 220 million is set to grow at a rate of 1.5 percent annually, which will lead to drastically growing demands for energy. However, energy deficiency has been a serious challenge to the security and economy of the country. Currently, almost 80 percent of Pakistan's energy supply comes from the burning of fossil fuels, such as the oil and gas that Pakistan has to import.

At the same time, Pakistan is blessed with natural resources such as sunlight and wind. According to recent studies, Pakistan's solar potential is estimated to be over 100,000 megawatts. Excellent conditions for harnessing solar energy can be found in the southwestern province of Balochistan, where the sun shines about eight hours daily or approximately 3,000 hours per year. For many Pakistani villagers who live far from the national grid, distributed solar power provides an ideal solution.

Facing the urgency of global climate change, Pakistan has been promoting more environmentally friendly renewable energy in recent years. The government intends to boost the share of clean and green energy to 60-65 percent of the total energy mix by 2030. Some key initiatives have been taken, such as the Solar Village Electrification program, under which more than 40,000 villages that are too far from the national grid to be economically connected now have energy access, and the Solar Powered Efficient Pumps program which is designed to replace 1.1 million water pumps that were previously operated with either insufficient electricity or diesel. The Quaid-e-Azam Solar Power in Punjab is the first utility-scale solar power plant in the country.

To promote solar energy, the Pakistani government has also offered a flexible and attractive policy that includes tax incentives and legal protection for the return on investment (which is usually eight years, the highest in the world). Under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), further incentives are offered for Chinese investors, along with other preferential treatment.

As the interviews in the book Belt and Road Through My Village have shown, Pakistani people are the beneficiaries of solar energy, which has improved the socioeconomic conditions of the common people, enhanced their income and made their lives more comfortable. Solar energy has served as a catalyst in poverty eradication. People are happy and grateful to their Chinese brethren and welcome more similar development projects to improve their lives. These projects are cost-effective, and, contrary to Western propaganda, they are not debt traps.

China is a world leader in solar energy and has been meeting the worldwide demand. Today, China can share its solar technology, experience and environmental improvement stories with the rest of the world. The Pakistani government's new policies and determination to develop solar energy provide Chinese solar companies and investors, as well as the Pakistani people, a great opportunity to grow together cleanly and sustainably.

[Riaz Haq]

SBP eases terms for renewable energy financing

https://www.dawn.com/news/1651531

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has allowed all Renewable Energy Investment Entities (RE-IEs) to avail financing on easy conditions to remove growing electricity shortage in the country.

The SBP on Monday said that to promote investment in RE solutions by companies, the central bank has eased the conditions for renewable energy solution providers under its Refinance Scheme for Renewable Energy.

With the aim of helping address the challenges of energy shortages and climate change, the central bank revised its Financing Scheme for Renewable Energy in July 2019. Since the inception of the scheme, 717 projects having potential of adding 1,082MW of energy supply through renewable sources have been financed. As of June 30, 2021, total outstanding financing under the scheme is Rs53 billion.

RE, often referred to as clean energy, comes from natural sources — sunlight, water and wind — or processes that are constantly replenished.


Since 2019, projects promising 1,082MW of energy supply have been financed

“Now, all RE-IEs interested in installing renewable energy projects and solutions are allowed to avail refinance under Category-III of the scheme,” said the SBP.

An RE-IE is a business entity (including vendors and suppliers) whose business is to establish renewable energy projects for onward leasing, renting out or selling on deferred payment basis or selling of electricity generated from these projects to end users.

The SBP also launched a Sharia-complaint version of the scheme in August 2019. The scheme now comprises of three categories. Under Category-I, financing is allowed for setting up of RE power projects with capacity ranging from 1-50 MW for own use or selling of electricity to the national grid or a combination of both.

Under Category-II, financing is allowed to domestic, agriculture, commercial and industrial borrowers for installation of renewable energy based projects of up-to 1 MW to generate electricity for own use or selling to the grid or distribution company under net metering.

Under Category-III, financing is allowed to vendors, suppliers and energy sale companies for installation of wind and solar systems of up to 5 MW.

While there is substantial take up under Category-I and II, solution suppliers under Category-III faced problems, said the SBP.

Accordingly, in light of the feedback received from stakeholders including RE solution suppliers, Alternate Energy Development Board (AEDB) and banks, the requirement of AEDB certification has been relaxed for RE-IEs who do not undertake installations on their own but hire services of installers or vendors for installation of RE projects.

“However, vendors, suppliers, engineering procurement and construction (EPC) contractors of these RE-IEs will still be required to be certified under the AEDB certification regulations,” said the SBP.

The SBP expects that this revision in Category-III will further facilitate production of clean energy in the country.

[Riaz Haq]

Bilal I Gilani
@bilalgilani
According to the data compiled by the German Agency for Development Cooperation (Pakistan), about 18,000 distributed generators had net-metering licences as of December 2021.

Of them, more than 15,000 were issued only in 2020 and 2021.

https://twitter.com/bilalgilani/status/1523287878109130752?s=20&...

[Riaz Haq]

Meezan Bank leads PKR 1 Billion Syndicated Islamic Finance Facility For 7 MW Solar Power Project
April 9th, 2022

https://www.meezanbank.com/meezan-bank-leads-pkr-1-billion-syndicat...

Meezan Bank, Pakistan’s leading Islamic bank and Burj Solar Energy Private Limited (BSEPL) are pleased to announce the financial close of PKR 1 billion syndicated Islamic finance facility for BSEPL’s portfolio of renewable distributed power generation in Pakistan. The first tranche of PKR 580 million will be used to finance the construction of 7 MW solar power plant for Power Cement Limited on Karachi Hyderabad Motorway.

Meezan Bank led the transaction as the Mandated Lead Arranger and Pakistan Kuwait Investment Company (Private) Limited participated as the Co-Arranger. The transaction structure is based on State Bank of Pakistan’s Islamic Financing Facility for Renewable Energy (IFRE) and a commercial facility.

The solar power plant will be rented to Power Cement Limited under a twenty-year equipment rental agreement and the solar energy generated will be used by the company’s cement plant in Nooriabad. It will generate 220 GWh solar units for twenty years and in addition to reducing cost of electricity, will offset 112,000 tons of CO2 GHG emissions. The project is expected to start generation in July, 2022.

Legal counsel for the financiers were Mohsin Tayebaly & Co. while Kabraji & Talibuddin Advocates and Legal Counsels acted as BSEPL’s legal counsel. Orient Energy Systems (Private) Limited is the turnkey EPC contractor for the project.

Mr. Ariful Islam, Deputy CEO, Meezan Bank, while commenting on the occasion said,‘Meezan Bank is comitted to actively support and pursue green energy initiatives. Meezan has played a key role the financing of several renewable energy projects aggregating to 380 MW, as Lead or Co-lead manager and also participated in the debt syndications of two large hydro-electric projects being set-up by the Government of Pakistan – Neelum Jhelum and Dasu. Burj Energy is an excellent initiative that will facilitate distributed affordable solar initiatives corporates, small and medium enterprises as well as the individual consumers.’ He said the Meezan has also implemented a number of green initiatives by installing solar at 59 branches branches and 140Kw solar at its Head Office. Its new regional office building in Islamabad is also being designed to be Platinum Lead certified.

Mr. Saad Zaman, Chairman of BSEPL and Burj Energy International Management Limited UAE, said, ‘I am very pleased that we have successfully reached the financial close of the 7 MW solar farm for Power Cement Limited. This is one more success for our company and a significant moment for development of hybrid renewable energy projects in Pakistan. This successful financial close reflects the ongoing interest and trust of leading financial institutions in the Pakistani renewables’ market and Burj Group.’

Mr. Kashif Habib Chief Executive Officer Power Cement Limited, said: ‘Our future is dependent on green, sustainable and renewable source of energy. By installing this 7 MW solar farm, we are taking the first step towards our hybrid solar & wind energy project. We shall keep playing our part in making our production process more environment-friendly and positively impactful for the eco-system we live in. It is high time that we look towards other viable energy options that are clean and green.

[Riaz Haq]

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) decision of allowing commercial banks to extend cheaper loans for conversion of tube-well operations to solar power for availing the net metering facility, the power distribution companies have started receiving an overwhelming response from such consumers across the country.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1679520

Under the provisions, the tube-well connections seeking net metering on a load up to 25kW will not require permission from the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) for the grant of generation licence, Dawn has learnt.

The facility will not only convert most such connections on solar but also enable consumers to produce and use the electricity on their own besides selling the additional/surplus to the respective Discos. It will also control the technical and commercial losses (power losses either due to theft or technical reasons).

“The tube-well connections can be converted to net-metering but the response was not good due to considerable investment (around Rs2 to 3 million on each connection), lack of loaning facility and awareness. Now the SBP has announced a loaning facility on a six per cent markup for launching such small schemes,” explained Lahore Electric Supply Company’s Market Implementation and Regulatory Affairs Director-General Altaf Qadir while talking to Dawn.

Moreover, the increasing power tariff due to fuel price adjustment and other issues have forced consumers having tube-well connections to contact us in this regard,” he added.

The net metering project had been launched in 2016 countrywide. It allows any domestic, commercial, industrial and other consumers having at least a three-phase meter connection to be part of the power generation system by installing it on his/her premises (house, shop, factory, open spaces, etc). Under the arrangements, such a consumer may sell the additional energy to the respective power distribution company and make stocktaking (calculations) with it at the end of the month.

Since the system allows the consumers to generate electricity from one kilowatt to one megawatt, Nepra issues licences to the applicants residing in the service area jurisdiction of all distribution companies. Before issuance of the licence, the respective companies are supposed to receive, scrutinise and process such applications.

According to Mr Qadir, there are hundreds of thousands of tube-well connections in the service areas of all nine Discos including Lesco, Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (Fesco), Multan Electric Power Company (Mepco), Gujaranwala Electric Power Company (Gepco), Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO), Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco), Tribal Area Electric Supply Company (Tesco), Quetta Electric Supply Company (Qesco), Sukkar Electric Power Company (Sepco) and Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco).

It may be mentioned that most of such connections exist in a vast rural area of Mepco. The number here ranges between 60,000 to 70,000. Similarly, Lesco has 25,000 to 30,000 connections and most exist in the areas of its Kasur and Okara circles. Qesco, Gepco, Pesco, Hesco, Sepco and other companies also have a large number of such connections.

Answering a question Mr Qadir said Lesco has so far processed as many 6,000 net metering related applications out of which most (equaling to 100MW or so) have been issued generation licence by Nepra.

[Riaz Haq]

In order to encourage the production of renewable energy in the country, the Pakistani government announced on Friday sales tax exemptions on imports of solar panels and their distribution.

http://en.ce.cn/Insight/202206/11/t20220611_37745824.shtml


Presenting the budgetary proposals for the next fiscal year in the National Assembly on Friday, Pakistani Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said that the energy sector has pivotal importance for the people as well as the industries and trade in the country, adding that at the moment fuel prices were skyrocketing, which made thermal energy expensive. “For these sectors and the people we gave an additional subsidy of 214 billion rupees,” the minister noted.

The Finance Minister proposed tax exemption on import and local supply of solar panels. He said soft loans from banks will be arranged for the people who consume less than 200 units of electricity to purchase solar panels.

The previous government of Prime Minister Imran Khan had imposed a 17 percent general sales tax. The imposition of taxes on solar panels has received criticism from different quarters.

Earlier in May, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced the reversal of the decision to tax the solar panels, which will be implemented in FY23.

Chinese companies manufacturing solar panels will have to play a crucial role in the generation of Alternative Renewable Energy (ARE) in Pakistan. At the moment, according to a market survey, more than 90 percent of solar panels and other related equipment are being imported from China. Chinese companies are executing and running solar power projects in Pakistan including 300 MW solar power projects which is operational under the umbrella of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)

In a recent interview with Gwadar Pro, former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said, “solar is very critical to Pakistan’s need today” and added, “I am expecting that China, which has the most experience in the world in solar, will come to Pakistan and help the country get more sustainable energy”. He also welcomed more Chinese companies to come to Pakistan and establish solar panel manufacturing plants in the country.

Pakistan targets an on-grid Alternative Renewable Energy (ARE) generation mix of 20 percent by 2025 and 30 percent by 2030, adding the policy targets the development of ARE projects mainly on competitive bedding, unsolicited mode limited to G2G and new technologies.

Pakistan has a population of over 225 million. Approximately 88 percent of the population has access to electricity while 12 percent remains un-electrified. The annual per capita electricity consumption in Pakistan is around 550 kWh as compared with the world average of 3,081 kWh per capita.

National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) approved Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan (IGCEP) 2021 with demand supply projects till 2030. Under IGCEP, the current installed capacity of 34,776 MW will become 61,112 MW by the end of 2030. Apart from the committed pipeline projects, the IGCEP requires an addition of 10,062 MW of ARE capacity by 2030.

[Riaz Haq]

Solar net-metering generation reaches 419MW

https://www.dawn.com/news/1700918

The solar net-metering power generation has reached 419MW (approximately) with a considerable number of consumers switching to solar across the country.

With around 149MW, Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco) stands first among 10 power distribution companies (Discos), Dawn has learnt.

The net-metering project had been launched in 2016 countrywide. It allows any domestic, commercial, industrial and other consumers having at least a three-phase meter connection to be part of the power generation system by installing it on his/her premises (house, shop, factory, open spaces, etc). Under the arrangements, such a consumer may sell the additional energy to the respective power distribution company and make stocktaking (calculations) with it at the end of the month. Since the system allows the consumers to generate electricity from one kilowatt to one megawatt, Nepra issues licences to the applicants seeking generation below 25kW in the service area jurisdiction of all distribution companies. Before issuance of the licence, the respective companies are supposed to receive, scrutinise and process such applications.

According to an official document, Lesco, since launch of the project in 2016, received total 10,176 applications as of June, 2022 for issuance of licences for cumulative generation of around 185.975MW. The total 10,176 application included 9,561 for the generation below 25kW and 615 of over 25kW. Of these, 9,183 connections were installed and billing started to 7,288 generating total 148.853MW (148,853kW).

Gujranwala Electric Power Company (Gepco) got total 1,528 applications for net-metering connections having a cumulative generation of 41.708MW (41,708kW) that included 1,288 and 240 seeking below 25kW and over 25kW generation. Of these, 1,446 connections were installed with billing started to 1,402 with initiation of 40.717MW.

In Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (Fesco), the authorities received total 2,614 applications (2,286 below 25kW and 328 over 25kW) for generation of 56.681MW (56,681 kW). Here total 2,195 connections were installed and billing started to 1,856 connections having cumulative generation of 44.604MW (44,604kW).

Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco) received total 6,398 applications (79.653 MW/79653kW) including 6,163 and 235 of below and over 25kW respectively. As many as 6,078 connections were installed and billing started to 5,377 having total generation of 72.570MW (72,570kW).

Multan Electric Power Company (Mepco) got 4,232 applications having cumulative generation of 104.358MW (104,358kW) that included 3,756 and 474 of below and over 25kW respectively. As many as 3,844 connections were installed after which billing started to 3,463 having generation of 77.737MW (77,737kW).

In the areas of Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco), total 1,847 applications (1744 and 103 of below and over 25kW) seeking a cumulative power generation of 27.640 MW (27,640kW) were received out of which 1,847 connections were installed with billing initiated to 1,463 applicants generating 26.304MW (26,304kW).

On the other hand, the response to the net-metering project remained lukewarm in the areas of Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco), Sukkur Electric Supply Company (Sepco), Quetta Electric Supply Company (Qesco) and the Tribal Area Electric Supply Company (Tesco). The consumers in the areas of the aforementioned companies made a generation of 2.673MW, 3.768MW, 1.021MW and 500kW, respectively.

[Riaz Haq]

I HAVE been an enthusiast of renewable energy for over a decade. Early this year, I saved enough money, over Rs750,000, to have a 5.4kV solar system installed in my house. I went for an on-grid system, hoping that for most of the year we would be producing more electricity than we would be consuming and, hence, our bill would come out in the negative.

By S. Arif Kazmi Karachi

https://www.dawn.com/news/1701139/stumbling-blocks-are-hindering-so...


I was aware of the other options, like off-grid and hybrid systems. In both these cases, one would need to buy a different type of inverter plus batteries. The system I chose, on-grid with net-metering, did not require any batteries. Whatever power our solar panels produce would directly be sent through the inverter to the K-Electric (KE) grid and whatever we use would come to us from the grid directly as before installation of the solar panels.

The only difference now is that instead of the old meter, we now have a bidirectional smart meter which keeps track of units sent from our panels to the grid and units taken by our appliances; hence the name net-metering.

There was one little detail to which I did not pay enough attention. When there is loadshedding done by KE, or the system shuts down for any reason, we would need some type of backup, like a UPS unit or a generator. At the time when I was signing up for the on-grid net-metering deal, there were hardly any period of loadshedding or power breakdown, and going for a hybrid system would add considerable additional cost of batteries which would need periodic replacements as well.

Now when the KE has started resorting to frequent and extensive loadshedding, there is another concern to pay attention to. During loadshedding, there is no power being exported to the grid. Our panels are producing electricity, but it is neither being stored nor exported.

If we had chosen a hybrid system, the power produced by our panels would be stored by the battery pack, and used for household consumption any time of the day or night. As things stand, if there is a four-hour day-time loadshedding, we are losing about Rs100 per day.

So, if you are thinking of getting solar panels, go with a hybrid system if you can afford the extra cost of batteries. I am not sure about the cost difference between an inverter and a hybrid inverter which would have connectivity to the battery pack as well to the grid plus a smart switch which would guide the current either way.

While I am at it, let me point out that KE is not following the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) rules of payment to customers who are giving more units to KE than what they are getting from it. Also, there is a difference in the rates at which KE buys from us and the rate at which they pay us for the units supplied.

The difference between selling and buying rates is quite huge, and the rate at which KE sells power would keep on increasing, while the rate at which it buys from us is frozen. The gap keeps widening, which, to say the least, is unfair.

[Riaz Haq]

Bilal I Gilani
@bilalgilani
During July-Mar FY2022, a total of 10,783 net metering based systems of 196.77 MW
capacity were installed by different segments of consumers. As of 31st December, 2021, net-metering based solar installations had reached up to 17,950 with a
cumulative capacity of 305.79 MW.

https://twitter.com/bilalgilani/status/1607487467828944897?s=20&...

[Riaz Haq]

Over 3,500 applications for Net-Metering pending in DISCOs

https://pakobserver.net/over-3500-applications-for-net-metering-pen...

As many as 3,521 applications for Net-Metering are currently pending in all power distribution companies (DISCOs).

These applications were pending in various distribution companies including Islamabad Electric Supply Company, Lahore Electric Supply Company, Multan Electric Supply Company, Gujranwala Electric Supply Company, Sukkur and Hyderabad Electric Supply companies and Peshawar Electric Supply Company.

According to official of Power Division, all net metering applications are being facilitated as per National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA’s) regulations and Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) guidelines which are already included in the standard operating procedures (SOPs) of DISCOs.

Power Division has also issued instructions to all DISCOs for timely processing of Net-Metering applications. Net metering connections are installed within the specified time period and no such delays or hurdles are created by DISCO.

A dedicated team of Market Implementation & Regulatory Affairs Department (MIRAD)/ concerned Superintending Engineer are closely monitoring the whole process of net metering connections in all DISCOs for timely execution. He said in order to facilitate consumers, DISCOs have allowed for self-purchase of Bi-Directional energy meters for net metering from approved manufactures. NNI