The short version
- New applications are no longer net metering. Under NEPRA’s 2026 prosumer regulations they are net billing — same application route, different economics.
- The regulations put timelines on the utility: acknowledgement within five working days, technical review within fifteen days, interconnection within fifteen days of payment.
- Your system capacity must sit within your sanctioned load, with a one megawatt ceiling overall.
- A connection can be refused where generation on that transformer has already reached eighty per cent of its rated capacity.
- Systems of 250 kW and above need a load flow study. Budget time for it.
Most people still call it net metering, so that is what they search for. The mechanism it now refers to is net billing, introduced by the NEPRA (Prosumer) Regulations notified in February 2026. The application route is broadly the same. What you get paid for exported units is not, and we covered that separately in net metering to net billing.
This page is about the process itself: what happens, in what order, who is responsible for each step, and where applications actually get stuck.
What does the application process look like?
What documents do you actually need?
Exact requirements vary between distribution companies, but the core file is consistent. Getting it complete on the first submission is the single biggest thing within your control.
- The distribution company’s application form, correctly filled
- A copy of a recent electricity bill, showing your reference number and sanctioned load
- CNIC of the connection holder
- A single line diagram of the proposed system
- Datasheets for the modules and the inverter, including anti-islanding compliance
- Test or certification documents for the equipment as required
- Details of the installer and their professional registration
If the name on the bill is not yours, sort that out first. A mismatch between the connection holder and the applicant stops applications more often than any technical issue.
Let us file it for you
We prepare the documentation, submit it to your distribution company, follow it up, and attend the inspection. You should not have to learn a utility's internal process to use your own roof.
Am I even eligible?
Three conditions decide this, and it is worth checking all three before anyone quotes you a system size.
1. Your sanctioned load
System capacity is tied to the sanctioned load on your connection. If you want a system larger than your sanctioned load allows, the conversation is about getting the load enhanced first, not about squeezing more panels onto the roof and hoping.
2. The one megawatt ceiling
A distributed generation facility under these regulations is capped at one megawatt. Relevant only for industrial clients, but relevant absolutely for them.
3. The transformer you sit on
This is the one nobody mentions until it bites. A new connection can be refused where the generation already connected on that transformer has reached eighty per cent of its rated capacity. It has nothing to do with your roof, your budget or your paperwork — it depends on how many of your neighbours got there first.
It is worth checking early. Discovering it after you have bought equipment is an expensive way to learn how your local distribution network is loaded.
How long does the whole thing take?
The regulations set obligations on the licensee rather than on you: acknowledge the application within five working days, complete the technical review within fifteen days, and install the interconnection facilities within fifteen days of payment. On paper that is a matter of weeks.
In practice, duration varies by distribution company and by how clean your submission is. Every missing datasheet is a round trip. Every correction to the single line diagram is another review cycle. This is precisely why we would rather spend an extra day preparing a file than three weeks chasing one.
Commercial and industrial applicants should also note that systems of 250 kW and above require a load flow study, carried out through the licensee or by a consultant registered with the Pakistan Engineering Council. Plan for it at the start rather than meeting it as a surprise.
What actually delays applications
- An incomplete document file on first submission
- An inverter without proper anti-islanding compliance or the paperwork to prove it
- A proposed system capacity that exceeds the sanctioned load
- Name or reference mismatches between the bill and the applicant
- Equipment that does not meet the distribution company’s technical standards
- Transformer capacity already taken up locally
Every item on that list is a design-stage decision, not a paperwork problem. Which is the real point of this article: the application goes smoothly when the system was specified correctly in the first place. If you are still choosing between system types, start with on-grid, hybrid or off-grid.
Want us to check your eligibility before you spend anything?
Send a photo of your latest bill. We will confirm your sanctioned load and tell you what size you can apply for.
Applying for net billing: questions people actually ask
How do I apply for net billing in Pakistan?
How long does the process take?
How large a system am I allowed to install?
Do larger systems need extra studies?
What usually delays an application?
The bottom line
The process is not difficult, it is unforgiving of an incomplete file. Check your sanctioned load, check the transformer, submit a clean and complete application, and the timelines in the regulations work in your favour. Hand it to someone who does it every week and you will never see most of it.
Rules, fees and rates in this area are revised from time to time. We confirm the position that applies on the day your application goes in rather than relying on a figure published months earlier.
Start your application the right way
A free survey, an eligibility check against your sanctioned load and local transformer capacity, and the full application handled on your behalf.
