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Karachi: Thousands of consumers who installed solar systems to get rid of expensive electricity are currently worried because instead of the expected relief, additional burden has come to the fore in recent bills. Citizens say that the electricity units supplied to the grid under net metering are not appearing in their bills.
According to the affected consumers, only the electricity charges used have been included in the bills, while there is no account of the electricity returned through solar. As a result, they have received bills as if they were using grid electricity completely.
Many citizens said they installed expensive solar systems to reduce monthly expenses, but recent bills have proven all estimates wrong. One consumer said, “Instead of relief, we got an electric shock” as exported units were shown as zero.
The issue has raised public concern and consumers have demanded immediate clarification from electricity distribution companies and correction of bills. Complaints are also rife on social media.
Although no official statement has been issued yet, according to some sources, the problem is likely due to a system or software glitch, which is being fixed soon.
Energy experts warn that such errors could prove detrimental to renewable energy policies as it weakens people’s confidence in net metering.
Consumers say that if timely corrections are not made, the trend of solar adoption will be affected, which is considered an important solution to the country’s energy needs.
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