In the wake of an on-going energy crisis in Pakistan, National Electric Power
Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) issued net metering regulations in 2015 in order to
encourage consumers to contribute in power generation. Contrary to the
anticipation of attracting large-scale prosumers after the launch of these
regulations, the overall capacity installed so far remains insignificant.
Moreover, an uneven distribution in terms of issued licenses as well as
installed capacity across the power distribution companies (DISCOs), wherein the
growth is concentrated in three major cities of Pakistan—Islamabad, Lahore and
Karachi—is another challenge. Based on this insight, the study aims to probe the
challenges to distributed generation (DG) in Pakistan. Primary data for this
paper was collected from three primary stakeholders: the prosumers; the
non-prosumers; and the DISCOs or the primary intermediaries. The findings
indicate a number of challenges hindering DG growth in Pakistan including
cumbersome application process; serious financial barriers; inaction of DISCOs;
low trust in technology; absence of awareness programs and absence of
fee-for-service (FFS) models. Finally, the paper gives a roadmap to overcome the
aforementioned challenges, and catalyzing the prosumage drive.
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