Govt Plan to Drive People Away from Solar Panels? Why Has the Govt Solar Policy Not Been Clarified?
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00:00The government's new solar policy, again,
00:04before coming to power, the electors used to make claims.
00:07At that time, they used to encourage that electricity will be cheaper,
00:10solar panels will be given priority, schemes will be announced.
00:15But now we have seen that the new reforms have come,
00:18it is like this that a common person who has installed a solar panel,
00:21he will be punished for that,
00:23that how did he think that he will install a solar panel
00:26and think about making his life easier.
00:29In the meeting of the Economic Relations Committee of the State Treasury,
00:32the existing net metering regulations,
00:35many reforms have been approved,
00:37and under the reforms, the buyback rate of electricity has been reviewed.
00:41The 10 rupees fee unit that was decided,
00:44instead of 27 rupees for electricity from the new solar panels,
00:4710 rupees fee unit will be purchased.
00:49Whereas this customer, on using Wabda's electricity,
00:52the government will charge 42 rupees fee unit and 48 rupees fee unit.
00:58Tax is 18% and duties will be included in the bill,
01:02which is a rough estimate, this rate will be around 65 rupees.
01:05According to the announcement, its purpose is to reduce the financial burden on the grid.
01:10This decision was made due to the increasing number of net metering customers.
01:14Due to solar power, for those who use grid power,
01:17the efforts to reduce electricity were harmed.
01:1980% of the customers who use solar panels belong to 9 big cities.
01:24According to the briefing given to the ECC,
01:26till December 2024, Solar Sarfine has transferred 159 billion rupees on grid Sarfine.
01:31And now this burden will increase to 4,240 billion rupees by 2034.
01:36And because the number has increased a lot,
01:38if you look at the total number of Solar Sarfine, it has become 2,83,000.
01:42Now it has been made clear in this announcement,
01:45that the Nazdar Sani Shuddha Framework will not be applied on the existing Net Metering Sarfine.
01:49The existing Sarfine will be shifted under this framework,
01:52after the termination of its 7-year agreement.
01:55Mr. Shahbaz, if we talk about the Punjab government,
01:59they say that you should convert towards solar energy,
02:03solar parks should be built, incentives will be given.
02:05The way the government has practically discouraged people to go towards solar energy,
02:12I give electricity rates on the grid.
02:15I mean, my electricity bill is very high because I don't have a solar panel.
02:19So the burden that is increasing on us,
02:21the government wants to reduce the burden on the grid by taking it out of the pockets of those who have solar panels.
02:28This is the most confusing policy.
02:31What is their policy power policy?
02:33If you understand, because you are a little smart, explain it to me too.
02:36Look, Miss Mani, I am not smart at all.
02:40The government calls me negative, you can call me smart.
02:43You and I keep criticizing the government for no reason.
02:49Our government is so aware of people,
02:52because people were facing an additional burden of 90 paise per unit due to solar panels.
02:59So, feeling the pain of the people, they have reduced the burden of 90 paise.
03:05Yes, it is another thing that the cross-subsidy government is still taking a fee of 18 rupees per unit,
03:09and a fee of 16 to 17 rupees per unit,
03:12on top of which they have removed the burden of 90 paise.
03:17Secondly, there is an intellectual honesty in this.
03:23Now, the number you read in the press release, the burden of 4200 rupees will increase due to solar panels.
03:29They are giving cumulative numbers.
03:31Every year, the burden of 150 to 200 rupees will increase.
03:34According to them, by 2035, the total burden in 10 years will be 4200 rupees.
03:39Even now, they have forgotten that today we are making annual payments in idle capacity payments.
03:45The total burden in 10 years will increase from 2100 to 2200 rupees.
03:50They have not mentioned how much it will increase from 10 to 1000 rupees.
03:53The bottom line is that the inconsistencies in the policies are not good for the economy and welfare of the people.
04:02You should definitely change the policies, but make it realistic.
04:05Don't do it in such a way that you are forcing them.
04:08You reduce their benefit.
04:09If you think that they are being given a fee of 27 rupees per unit, then you reduce it to 10 rupees.
04:14But don't force them to buy their electricity for 10 rupees.
04:19Instead of that, you will sell electricity at a fee of 500 rupees.
04:22Number one.
04:23Number two.
04:24No matter how hard the government tries, it cannot stop solarization.
04:27What they have forced people to do is that people will go towards battery storage.
04:32They will try to get out of the toxic grid.
04:34The process will definitely slow down, but it will not end.
04:38The inefficiencies in the system, especially the theft that is being collected from the electricity bills,
04:44the circular debt that is being collected from the electricity bills,
04:47a fee of 23 rupees per unit is already being taken from us.
04:53In the same way, the line losses and under-recovery are being collected from our bills.
04:58So, neither are they able to end the circular debt, nor are they able to end this theft.
05:02They are saying that we have done it.
05:04Neither have they been able to improve the under-recovery.
05:06The temporary improvement has been made because some of the past recoveries have come.
05:09So, these three things will not be addressed until then.
05:11This rate of 65 rupees today can be something else tomorrow.
05:14So, the government should correct the policies.
05:16Incentivize people to come towards the toxic grid.
05:19Don't punish people so that they come towards the toxic grid as a punishment.
05:23Mr. Gupta, what I understand in a very simple language is that the government first identifies
05:29which department has some inefficiency.
05:33And those who have some inefficiency should be snatched away from them.
05:36Whether it is the salary person, because he pays taxes.
05:38He is also making some money.
05:40Take more taxes from him.
05:41Those who have solar panels,
05:43they have found a way to reduce the electricity costs for themselves,
05:47to control the budget.
05:49They should get it from them.
05:50The decisions of strict structural reforms should not be made.
05:53Target and extract more from where people have cushions.
05:57This is what I understand.
06:00Look, Maria, first of all,
06:02what they say that there is a burden of 156 billion rupees.
06:06This is a lie.
06:07I am not saying anything wrong.
06:09I am saying that this is a lie.
06:10They should not say this.
06:11Last year, the total solar power they bought was of 34 billion.
06:17This year, they will probably buy solar power of 50-52 billion rupees.
06:22So, they are saying that this is a burden.
06:24How is it a burden?
06:25I will tell you how they are saying it.
06:27They are saying that those who have installed solar panels,
06:30if they had not installed solar panels,
06:32and if they had taken more electricity from us,
06:34our sales would have been this much.
06:36The ARY people are saying that
06:38if there were no more channels,
06:40we would have got more ads.
06:42So, the second channel is a burden on us.
06:44The second channel is not a burden on us.
06:46The second channel is a competition.
06:48The second thing is that you get electricity done in the government
06:52because we do not install generators in our homes.
06:55If we install electricity in our homes, it will be very expensive.
06:57So, if you install a big electricity system,
06:59it will be cheaper.
07:00Scale economies will come.
07:02But if your economy is so bad,
07:04your efficiency is so bad that
07:06when I install four solar panels at home,
07:08I get that electricity cheaply.
07:10So, what is the use of the grid?
07:12The third thing is that
07:14this is not a burden of 90 paise.
07:19The cost is increasing.
07:21And if you want to save cost,
07:23if they had given Rs. 34 billion last year,
07:29that is, they have bought 1.2 billion units from the solar companies,
07:37then they have lost 200 billion units in line losses.
07:46They have made 20 times more line losses than this.
07:49So, if you have 90 paise,
07:51if you are worried about your burden,
07:53then reduce the line losses.
07:55You cannot do that.
07:56And the real reason is that
07:58you are selling electricity to middle-class people for Rs. 50 or Rs. 60.
08:01And when you are selling electricity for Rs. 60,
08:03he got worried and went to solar.
08:06With the policy you told,
08:08now you are deviating from the policy.
08:10Now you are saying that I will give Rs. 10.
08:12You will not even give Rs. 10, you will give Rs. 8.5.
08:14You have done gross metering.
08:16And you have brought Rs. 22 to Rs. 27.
08:19But if you are doing this,
08:21the reason is not that electricity becomes expensive.
08:24The reason is that you have put a cross-subsidy in it.
08:27And you want to give subsidies to poor people,
08:29and you must give, but you are not giving from the budget,
08:31you are distorting the price.
08:33So, the government, Mr. Shivraj says,
08:35we have made electricity cheaper for you,
08:37when we go and tell the poor people,
08:39you do not even say this,
08:41what you should say,
08:43that we have made electricity expensive for all middle-class people.
08:45You say that too, because we do not give that money from the government.
08:47This is a very, very flawed policy.
08:49See, when mobile phones came,
08:51at that time, if we had stopped mobile phones,
08:53or when computers came,
08:55at that time, if we had stopped computers,
08:57what would have happened to typewriters,
08:59what would have happened to the typewriter industry?
09:01So, this was a matter of stupidity.
09:03When mobile phones came,
09:05the fixed line telephony in Pakistan was over.
09:07The monopoly of PTCL was over.
09:09In the next 4-5 years, after solar power and batteries,
09:11it will happen that the grid will basically remain as an exchange.
09:13If I have a little more electricity,
09:15give it to Maria's house.
09:17If Maria has more,
09:19give it to Shahzaib's house,
09:21give it to Shahbaz's house.
09:23It will keep rotating like this.
09:25It should not be stopped.
09:27It should be solarized.
09:29The consumer cannot be penalized for their mistakes.
09:31Yes, the middle class is paying the price for it.
09:33You are saying that it is a flawed policy.
09:35I think, Mr. Khan, it is an ad hoc policy.
09:37It is a lack of policy.
09:39A policy is made for a small span of time.
09:41First, you encouraged people
09:43to install electricity on solar power.
09:45Now, we know that
09:47there is a lot of burden on the grid.
09:49We should discourage it.
09:51In 10 years,
09:53let's see the energy policy of the PMLN government.
09:55First, there are IPPs,
09:57then solar,
09:59then they have to compensate for IPPs.
10:01Actually,
10:03what is the long-term policy of the government?
10:05To solve power issues.
10:07So, Maria,
10:09what has come out is the following.
10:11If you go to the heart of the problem,
10:13whether it is the policy of 1994,
10:152002,
10:17or 2015,
10:19there are conditions in which rates have been guaranteed.
10:21There are tariff structures.
10:23If you want to fix all these,
10:25where does the problem lie?
10:27It lies in the fact that
10:29till date,
10:31you need a professional, synergistic
10:33energy ministry.
10:35You need synergy, whether it is solar,
10:37water, power, petroleum,
10:39gas.
10:41If you want to correct this,
10:43in the long term,
10:45you will have to go one way.
10:47We have not been able to go that way till date.
10:49Secondly,
10:51there is a nascent regulator in this country,
10:53which means that
10:55to make these two,
10:57the state-of-the-art regulator,
10:59people will have to bring it from somewhere.
11:01Don't make it a parking spot.
11:03This is too important.
11:05Market making,
11:07they will have to do all these things.
11:09Similarly, the organizational issues of NTDC,
11:11because of which you are not able to
11:13carry electricity,
11:15and in the end, of course, privatization.
11:17This is a pit that the regulator
11:19puts in front of you.
11:21There are a lot of details on this.
11:23See, this 27 rupee policy had to be tweaked.
11:25I am clear on this.
11:27Because, the price of the solar
11:29which was very expensive earlier,
11:31its price had become very low,
11:33and the payback of 4 years had come to 1.5-2 years.
11:3510 rupees had to be tweaked.
11:37We can talk about this.
11:39We went on gross metering.
11:41Maybe we shouldn't have gone on this.
11:43There is room that we would have stayed on net metering.
11:45So, you can say this.
11:47But, these are all the issues.
11:49Now, let me say one last thing.
11:51Who has stopped you?
11:53That you go to the cost of service
11:55and don't tell every disco
11:57that whatever line losses you will do,
11:59whatever inefficiencies you will do,
12:01your price will be that,
12:03the cost of service will be less.
12:05Or, why have you kept the tariff of the whole country separately?
12:07You should create competitive behavior
12:09within the market.
12:11So, there is a lot that can be done.
12:13And, I really hope that the authorities
12:15will consider to do all this.
12:17Before the middle class evaporates
12:19under the burden of your taxes and prices,
12:21you should do it earlier.
12:23Thank you very much.