Former Islamabad Chamber of Commerce president Shahid Rashid Butt has stated that the government’s flawed power policies are directly increasing the financial burden on solar consumers. He explained that officials are passing the costs of their policy and administrative failures onto households and businesses to hide losses caused by expensive IPP agreements.

According to Butt, domestic solar users across the country are being asked to pay up to 50,000 rupees in bribes for the installation of green meters. In comparison, commercial and industrial users are allegedly being forced to pay between 200,000 and 300,000 rupees. He described this unchecked practice as blatant exploitation and called on the government to implement transparent, uniform rules to stop corruption immediately.

He emphasized that uncertainty and lack of transparency have already discouraged investment in the solar sector. Consumers and businesses, he said, are increasingly worried about shifting policies and unclear regulations. The repeated claim that solar systems are imposing more than 100 billion rupees in additional burden on grid users was strongly dismissed by Shahid Rasheed Butt, who argued that the real losses stem from costly IPP contracts, transmission inefficiencies, power theft, and systemic corruption.

The business leader also pointed out that even consumers who recently installed green meters are receiving threatening notices, calling it outright victimization. He further alleged that new meters supplied by favored companies are malfunctioning and generating inflated bills in the hundreds of thousands. Meanwhile, the additional installation costs are also being passed on to consumers. If authorities insist on charging these amounts, he said, they should at least allow payments in installments.

He warned that without structural reforms and a crackdown on corruption in the energy sector, the national economy will continue to decline. He argued it is unjust to prevent people from lowering their electricity costs through solar power while protecting vested interests.

Shahid Rasheed Butt urged the government to establish a quick and effective complaint-resolution system for solar users to protect their rights. He warned that if current policies persist, solar power growth will stall, and consumers will turn to expensive battery systems, worsening the energy crisis.

Current policies discourage solar adoption; without transparency, both investors and consumers face uncertainty that hampers the growth of clean energy.