The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has officially removed the licensing requirement for solar systems with a capacity of 25 kilowatts and below.
According to the Power Division spokesperson, the decision was taken after Federal Minister for Power Sardar Owais Ahmed Khan Leghari issued special instructions directing authorities to facilitate small-scale solar users. Acting on these instructions, the Power Division formally wrote to NEPRA requesting the removal of the licensing condition for solar consumers installing systems of up to 25kW.
Following the Power Division’s request, NEPRA issued an official notification abolishing the licensing requirement, providing immediate regulatory relief to residential and small commercial solar users.
Earlier, the Power Division had also urged the regulator to abolish application fees and align current rules with earlier regulations, warning that recent policy changes could discourage small-scale solar adoption.
Under the Distributed Generation and Net Metering Regulations introduced in 2015, solar installations up to 25kW were exempt from licensing requirements, and applications were processed directly by electricity distribution companies (DISCOs) without any fee — a framework widely credited with encouraging rooftop solar expansion.
However, the later Prosumer Regulations shifted approval authority to NEPRA and introduced application fees even for smaller systems, raising concerns within the renewable energy sector. The Power Division noted that the Private Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB) had earlier cautioned that the revised mechanism could slow solar growth and recommended restoring the earlier approval system.
Industry stakeholders, including the Pakistan Solar Association, Primage (Pvt) Ltd, the Pakistan Alternative Energy Association, and Siddiq Renewable Energy (Pvt) Ltd, had also warned that centralized approvals would create unnecessary bureaucracy, delay installations, and increase costs for consumers.
With the latest notification, NEPRA has effectively reinstated the license-exempt regime for solar systems up to 25kW, a move expected to accelerate rooftop solar adoption and ease the transition toward renewable energy for households and small businesses across Pakistan.
