Bijli Sahulat Package 2026: Why Rs26 Winter Units Barely Help Solar Homes (and When to Use Them Anyway)

• By Best Solar Company PK
• 25 Oct, 2026
• Energy Savings
• 8 min read

Every winter the government tries to coax Pakistanis into using *more* electricity, not less. The latest **Bijli Sahulat package** does exactly that: for December, January and February it bills your *extra* usage at a flat Rs26.07 per unit instead of the painful upper-slab rates. For an ordinary grid-only home that is genuinely cheap power. But if you already run solar, the benefit shrinks fast — because the package rewards consumption *above your old baseline*, and your baseline is exactly what your panels have been quietly demolishing all year.

So should a solar home in 2026 switch strategy in winter and lean on cheap grid units? Sometimes yes. Below is the honest math.

What the Bijli Sahulat Package Actually Offers

The package sets a **flat Rs26.07/unit** charge on *incremental* consumption during the three winter months — anything you use above a historical benchmark. That benchmark is your consumption for the same month in the reference fiscal year, or your highest usage over the past three years, whichever the formula picks.

Two limits matter:

• The discounted rate applies **only to the incremental units** — your historical baseline is still billed at normal slab rates.
• Relief is capped at **25% above the benchmark**. Burn more than that and the excess snaps back to the regular tariff.

Commercial users get up to Rs22.71/unit relief and industry gets an 18–37% discount on incremental load. The idea is to soak up idle winter generation capacity when national demand collapses. You can read the official framing in Dawn's coverage of the winter package and The News.

Why Solar Homes See a Smaller Benefit

Here is the trap nobody spells out. The Bijli Sahulat relief is proportional to your **grid baseline**. A grid-only family that averaged 600 units a month has a generous 25% headroom — 150 bonus units at Rs26 is real money. A solar family that trimmed its grid draw to 120 units a month only gets 25% of *that* — roughly 30 units of cheap power. Same percentage, a fraction of the rupees.

Your panels did their job too well. By slashing imports all year, you also slashed the benchmark the government now measures your "extra" usage against. The relief is anchored to a number you deliberately shrank.

It gets sharper under the new **net billing** regime. In February 2026 NEPRA repealed the 2015 net-metering rules and moved new rooftop owners to the Prosumer Regulations 2026. The approved buyback rate for *new* prosumers was cut by Rs17.19 to just **Rs8.13 per unit** — less than a third of the old deal — while existing net-metering consumers keep selling surplus at **Rs25.32/unit** on their original contracts. See Profit's report on the net-billing switch and the regulator's own site, NEPRA.

If you are a new net-billing home, exporting a winter surplus earns you a measly Rs8/unit. That single fact reshapes the whole winter decision.

Winter Math: Rs26 Grid Units vs Your Battery

Winter is the worst season for rooftop solar in Pakistan. Short days, a low sun angle, and thick morning fog across Punjab routinely cut generation 30–50% below summer. Your panels may cover daytime loads but leave little for evening peaks — exactly when the family wants heaters, geysers and lights.

So the evening question becomes: pull a unit from the grid, or discharge the battery you charged earlier?

| Source of 1 winter evening unit | Effective cost (PKR/unit) | Notes | |---|---|---| | Bijli Sahulat incremental grid unit | ~26 | Only up to 25% above baseline | | Upper-slab normal grid unit | 45–65+ | With taxes/surcharges on high slabs | | New net-billing export (forgone) | ~8 | What you lose by not exporting | | Lithium (LFP) battery cycle | 10–18 | Depends on cell price & cycle life | | Lead-acid battery cycle | 22–35+ | Short life, heavy round-trip losses |

A rough levelised cost tells the story. An LFP pack bought around Rs40,000–50,000/kWh and rated for ~6,000 cycles delivers stored energy for roughly **Rs10–15/unit** after round-trip losses. Lead-acid, with its short life and ~70% usable depth, often lands north of **Rs25/unit** — sometimes above the Rs26 grid rate itself.

When to Lean on Cheap Winter Grid Units

Use the grid — and the Rs26 relief — when:

• You run **lead-acid batteries.** If a cycle costs you Rs25–35, a Rs26 grid unit is cheaper *and* spares your bank from deep winter cycling that shortens its life.
• Your **daytime solar already covers your baseline**, so almost every grid unit you add lands in the discounted incremental band rather than the top slab.
• You are a **new net-billing prosumer.** Your export is worth only ~Rs8, so there is no premium in hoarding surplus; import cheap incremental units instead.
• You want to **preserve battery health** for summer load-shedding, when stored power is far more valuable.

When to Keep Running Solar and Battery

Stay on your own system when:

• You have **lithium storage** at Rs10–15/unit — comfortably below the Rs26 grid rate, so self-consumption still wins.
• You are an **existing net-metering consumer at Rs25.32/unit.** Every exported unit nearly matches the Bijli Sahulat rate, so keep generating and banking credit.
• Your **evening peak would blow past the 25% cap**, pushing excess units back to Rs45–65 slab rates. Beyond the cap, the grid stops being cheap.
• You face **unstable supply or feeder tripping** and simply need the resilience your battery provides.

A Practical Winter Playbook

Here is the original tip most installers won't volunteer: **don't pick one source for the whole evening — split the night.** Let the battery carry the first, highest-value peak (7–10 pm heaters and lights), then switch the house to grid for the low overnight load that would otherwise over-cycle your battery for pennies of benefit.

Then do a 15-minute audit. Pull your last 12 bills, find your benchmark month, and calculate your real 25% headroom in units. Multiply by Rs26 and you will see the *actual* rupee ceiling of this package for your home — usually a few hundred to a couple of thousand rupees, not the headline figure. Decide from that number, not the hype. Our guides on net metering vs net billing in 2026 and solar battery storage costs in Pakistan walk through the inputs.

Frequently Asked Questions

**Does the Bijli Sahulat package help solar homes at all?** Yes, but less than grid-only homes. Because the relief is measured against your historical grid baseline — which solar has already shrunk — your 25% headroom is small in absolute units. You still get Rs26/unit on that incremental slice, just fewer rupees overall.

**Is a Rs26 winter grid unit cheaper than my battery?** It depends on your battery. Lithium (LFP) storage usually costs Rs10–15/unit, so running the battery wins. Lead-acid often costs Rs25–35/unit once you count short life and losses, so the Rs26 grid unit can be cheaper and gentler on the bank.

**Should new net-billing solar owners export or self-consume in winter?** Self-consume. New prosumers earn only about Rs8.13/unit for exports, so sending surplus to the grid is poor value. Use your own generation first, then top up with cheap incremental grid units if needed.

**What happens if I exceed 25% above my benchmark?** The relief stops. Units beyond the 25% cap are billed at normal slab rates, which on upper residential slabs can run Rs45–65/unit including taxes — far more than Rs26.

The Bottom Line

The Bijli Sahulat package is real relief, but it is designed around the habits of grid-dependent homes. For solar households the benefit is capped by a baseline you spent money to shrink, and the 2026 net-billing cut makes exports nearly worthless for new owners. Run the 15-minute audit, split your evenings between battery and grid, and match each winter unit to its cheapest source.

Want a system — or a battery upgrade — sized for Pakistan's weak winter sun and the new net-billing rules? Talk to Best Solar Company PK for a free winter-ready assessment.

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.