IESCO, FESCO and GEPCO Are Being Privatised: What It Means for Net Metering, Tariffs and Your Rooftop Solar

• By Best Solar Company PK
• 24 Jul, 2026
• Solar Policy
• 7 min read

The Privatisation Commission has formally started the sale of Pakistan's first batch of power distribution companies. Expressions of Interest (EoIs) are open for Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (FESCO), Gujranwala Electric Power Company (GEPCO) and Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO), with the government offering anywhere from 51% to 100% shareholding along with management control. After extensions granted in early July 2026, the EoI deadlines now fall on 7 August 2026 for FESCO and 21 August 2026 for GEPCO, while IESCO's deadline stands at 7 September 2026. The Privatisation Commission has told the National Assembly's Standing Committee that actual bidding is expected in the final quarter of 2026, running sequentially through October, November and December.

For the tens of thousands of rooftop solar owners — and would-be owners — across Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Attock, Chakwal and Jhelum, this raises urgent questions. Will a private IESCO honour existing net metering agreements? Will approvals get faster or harder? And what happens to tariffs? Here is a clear-eyed look at what is actually changing.

What Exactly Is Being Sold, and Why These Three DISCOs

The three Batch-I companies were chosen deliberately. Their transmission and distribution losses sit around 9–10%, among the lowest in the country, and their recovery rates and financial positions make them the most saleable of Pakistan's ten state-owned DISCOs. The transactions are a core commitment under Pakistan's ongoing IMF programme, and the government aims to complete five distribution-sector transactions in FY2026-27: outright privatisation of IESCO, FESCO and GEPCO, plus long-term concession agreements for the loss-heavy HESCO and SEPCO.

Key facts at a glance:

• **Stake on offer:** 51% to 100% shareholding with management control
• **EoI deadlines:** FESCO 7 August, GEPCO 21 August, IESCO 7 September 2026
• **Bidding:** expected October–December 2026, with financial close to follow
• **Regulator:** NEPRA continues to license and regulate the buyers

That last point is the one solar owners should anchor on.

Privatisation Does Not Rewrite the Solar Rulebook

A private owner buys the company — the wires, the workforce, the billing system — but it operates under the same NEPRA distribution licence and the same regulations that bind the public DISCO today. Net metering and net billing rules are made by NEPRA, not by IESCO. The government has also indicated that privatised DISCOs will continue to operate under the uniform national tariff rather than setting their own company-specific rates, at least initially, with certain contractual assurances offered to investors.

K-Electric is the useful precedent here. Karachi's utility has been privately owned since 2005, yet its consumers apply for solar interconnection under the same NEPRA framework as everyone else, and its tariffs are determined by NEPRA. There is no reason to expect Islamabad and Rawalpindi to be treated differently on the fundamentals.

Your Existing Net Metering Agreement Is Protected

This is the question we hear most, so let's be direct: **existing agreements survive privatisation.** A net metering (now "prosumer") interconnection agreement is executed under NEPRA regulations between you and the licensee. When ownership of the licensee changes hands, the obligations transfer with it. A private buyer cannot unilaterally tear up a valid agreement.

The bigger change for solar economics already happened in February 2026, before privatisation entered the picture. NEPRA's new prosumer regulations ended classic unit-for-unit net metering for new applicants and replaced it with **net billing**:

• Consumers with valid net metering agreements as of early February 2026 keep their old terms — including export settlement at roughly Rs 25–27 per unit — until their agreement expires
• New applicants are settled under net billing, where exported units are purchased at a much lower notified buyback rate, reported at roughly Rs 8–11 per unit depending on the applicable determination
• Imported units are billed at full slab tariffs, and exports no longer cancel imports one-for-one
• New agreements run for a fixed term with renewal provisions, and system capacity is linked to your sanctioned load

If you already have net metering in Islamabad or Rawalpindi, hold on to your signed agreement, your generation licence exemption documents and your billing history. These define your grandfathered rights regardless of who owns IESCO next year.

Approvals: Could a Private IESCO Actually Be Faster?

There is a genuinely optimistic case here. The chronic complaints with net metering approvals — files sitting for months, bidirectional meter shortages, repeated site-visit delays — are operational failures, and operations are exactly what a commercial owner is incentivised to fix. K-Electric digitised much of its interconnection process years before most public DISCOs. A private IESCO chasing revenue and customer-service metrics has little reason to sit on applications, especially since, under net billing, the utility now buys your surplus at Rs 8–11 and effectively resells it at slab rates several times higher.

The realistic risks are narrower but worth naming:

• **Transition friction:** during the handover period in late 2026 and 2027, expect slower processing as management, staff and IT systems change hands
• **Stricter technical enforcement:** private owners tend to enforce inspection, protection-equipment and load-verification requirements more rigorously than public utilities did
• **Commercial lobbying:** a private DISCO will have a seat at the table when NEPRA reviews buyback rates and prosumer rules in future — and it will argue its own book

What About Tariffs?

Nothing in the privatisation plan changes how your per-unit rate is set. NEPRA determines tariffs; the federal government notifies uniform national rates. As of the latest notification, IESCO residential slabs run from Rs 3.95 per unit for lifeline consumers up to Rs 22.44 for the first 100 units for unprotected consumers, climbing past Rs 47 per unit in the top slabs — before GST, fuel price adjustments and surcharges, which can push effective top-slab costs above Rs 60 per unit.

Over the longer term, privatisation is designed to squeeze out losses and theft, which in theory reduces the circular debt pressure that drives surcharges. Investors, for their part, are reportedly seeking policy clarity and tariff assurances before bidding — a reminder that the final transaction structure is still being negotiated. What is not on the table is a private IESCO freely setting its own prices.

What Solar Buyers in Islamabad and Rawalpindi Should Do Now

Whether or not the sale closes on schedule, the maths for rooftop solar in July 2026 is driven by net billing, not by ownership:

• **Size for self-consumption, not export.** Every unit you consume directly avoids grid power at Rs 22–47+, while every exported unit earns only Rs 8–11. Daytime-heavy usage and right-sized systems win.
• **Current costs:** Tier-1 N-type panels are selling at roughly Rs 43–48 per watt. A 6kW on-grid system installs for around Rs 600,000–850,000; hybrid systems with lithium batteries run Rs 850,000–1,000,000 and up.
• **Payback:** with high self-consumption at unprotected slab rates, well-designed systems still pay back in roughly three to five years.
• **If you're on the fence, apply now.** Locking in an interconnection agreement under current rules — before the ownership transition adds paperwork friction — is sensible.

For a deeper dive into the new settlement mechanics, see our guide to net metering versus net billing in Pakistan.

Frequently Asked Questions

**Will my existing net metering agreement remain valid after IESCO is privatised?** Yes. Agreements executed under NEPRA regulations bind the licensee, and those obligations transfer to any new owner. Consumers with valid agreements from before February 2026 also retain their old buyback rate of roughly Rs 25–27 per unit until the agreement expires.

**Can a private DISCO refuse my solar interconnection application?** Not arbitrarily. Interconnection is governed by NEPRA's prosumer regulations, and refusals must rest on defined technical grounds such as transformer capacity. You retain the right to complain to NEPRA if an application is wrongly stalled.

**Will electricity tariffs rise because of privatisation?** Not directly. Privatised DISCOs will remain under the NEPRA-determined uniform national tariff. Your bill will keep moving with fuel costs, the rupee and capacity payments — the same drivers as today.

**Is solar still worth it under net billing?** Yes, if you size for self-consumption. Offsetting grid power that costs Rs 22–47+ per unit with solar generated at an effective cost of under Rs 10 per unit remains one of the best investments available to Pakistani households — the export cheque is now just a bonus, not the business case.

**When will the new owners actually take over?** Bidding is planned for October–December 2026, with completion targeted within FY2026-27. Handover to new management would realistically happen in 2027, subject to financial close and regulatory approvals.

Best Solar Company PK designs and installs reliable solar systems in Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Lahore, Multan, Taunsa Sharif and Karachi. Contact us for a free survey and the best advice for your home or business.