MEPCO Solar Net Metering — Apply, Documents & Process
Rooftop solar can cut a MEPCO bill sharply — but the framework for new systems changed in February 2026. Read what net billing means now, who can apply and how the process really runs, before you spend anything.
What net metering is
In classic net metering, your rooftop solar system is connected to the grid through a special bidirectional meter — a meter that records electricity in both directions. During the day, your home uses solar power first. If the panels produce more than the house needs at that moment, the surplus flows out into the MEPCO grid, and the meter records those exported units. At night, or when usage exceeds solar production, you draw electricity from the grid as normal, and the meter records those imported units.
On the bill, the export reading is credited against your usage. In other words, units you sent out during sunny hours reduce what you are charged for, instead of simply being given away. To see where import, export and credited units appear once billing starts, it helps to know the layout of the bill itself — our guide on how to read your MEPCO bill walks through each section.
That simple picture is still the physical reality of how the system works. What changed in 2026 is the financial side: how imported and exported units are priced against each other.
Who can apply
The basic conditions have stayed familiar, even though the billing framework changed. You should be an existing MEPCO consumer with the connection in your name. If you are a tenant, you will need the owner's consent — the connection and the agreement are tied to the property and its holder.
The size of the solar system must not exceed your sanctioned load. A house sanctioned for a small load cannot simply put up an oversized plant and export the difference as a business.
Equipment must be certified and safe: IEC-certified panels, and an inverter with anti-islanding protection, so the system automatically stops feeding the grid when the grid goes down — a safety requirement that protects line staff working on a supposedly dead line. Finally, applications are routed through a PPIB (formerly AEDB) certified installer. Choosing that installer is therefore not just a shopping decision; an uncertified setup can stall or fail at the approval stage.
Application steps
- Choose a certified installer and get a site survey. A PPIB (formerly AEDB) certified installer checks your roof, shading, sanctioned load and daytime usage, and proposes a system size that fits the rules.
- System installed to standard. Panels, inverter, earthing and protections are installed properly — this work is inspected later, so shortcuts here cause delays.
- Installer submits the application to your MEPCO sub-division or divisional office, with the documents listed below, on the prescribed forms.
- MEPCO technical evaluation and site inspection. MEPCO checks the application and inspects the installation for load, equipment and safety compliance.
- Sign the agreement. You sign the prosumer agreement, and the generation licence formalities are handled under the prosumer framework for small systems.
- MEPCO installs the bidirectional meter that records both import and export.
- Billing starts. From then on, imports are billed and exports credited under the current framework, and the export figures appear on your next bills.
Documents usually asked for
- CNIC of the connection holder.
- Latest paid bill for the connection.
- Proof of ownership, or the owner's NOC where the applicant is not the owner.
- Single-line diagram of the system, signed by a PEC-registered engineer.
- Inverter datasheet and its anti-islanding certificate.
- Panel certifications for the modules being installed.
- MEPCO's prescribed forms, completed by you and your installer.
Offices can ask for additional papers in a particular case. Getting the full list confirmed at the start, in writing, saves repeat visits.
Costs & timelines — honestly
The main expense, by far, is the solar system itself: panels, inverter, structure, wiring and the installer's charges. That is a private purchase, so compare installers on equipment quality and certification, not only on the lowest quote.
MEPCO-side charges — processing and meter related — are billed through official demand notices. Pay only what an official notice states, through the official channel. Never pay cash to an agent who promises to move your file faster; that money buys nothing in the official process and leaves you with no receipt.
On timelines, be realistic. Official timelines run to weeks or months on paper, and real cases often take a few months from application to billing, depending on inspection schedules, meter availability and how complete the paperwork was. Any installer promising approval in a few days is selling, not informing. Plan the investment on a few-months horizon and you are unlikely to be disappointed.
Making net billing pay
Under net billing, the arithmetic rewards one habit above all: use your own solar yourself, during the day. A unit you consume directly is a unit you do not buy at the normal tariff, whereas a unit you export is credited at the notified export rate. So run the heavy daytime loads — washing, ironing, water pumping, cooling — while the sun is up, instead of exporting cheaply at noon and buying back expensively at night.
Remember also that a standard grid-tie system shuts down during load-shedding, for the anti-islanding safety reason explained above. If backup during outages matters to you, that means a hybrid system with battery — read our load-shedding guide alongside this decision. And size the system to your daytime load rather than to your roof: use the bill calculator to understand your current usage, and the practical ideas in our electricity saving tips to cut waste first. A smaller, well-used system usually pays back better than an oversized one exporting most of its output.
Official sources & useful links
Because the prosumer rules are new and rates are notified and revised officially, confirm the latest position before signing anything:
- NEPRA — nepra.org.pk: the regulator; check the latest prosumer regulations and notified rates here.
- MEPCO — mepco.com.pk: the official MEPCO site, for its current net metering / prosumer guidance and office information.
Confirm the latest prosumer regulations on those official sources, and keep a copy of the terms that applied on the date your own agreement was signed.