MEPCO Net Metering: Multan & South Punjab Guide
MEPCO's territory — Multan, Bahawalpur, DG Khan, Rahim Yar Khan and around — has some of Pakistan's strongest sunshine, averaging about 5.4 peak sun hours in Multan. It also has the country's most brutal heat, which quietly taxes every system that ignores it.
The MEPCO process
- An AEDB-certified installer files your case: CNIC, recent bill, single-line diagram, datasheets.
- Your MEPCO sub-division processes the application and schedules inspection of earthing, protection and equipment.
- Demand notice for the bidirectional (green) meter and processing — confirm the current amount in writing first.
- Meter replacement and interconnection agreement; export credits follow on your bills.
Designing for extreme heat
Heat derating is real money here. Panels lose output as cells heat up; on south Punjab's 45°C+ afternoons, cell temperatures soar and midday production sags. Countermeasures: leave a generous air gap under panels for airflow, prefer panels with better temperature coefficients, and never size assuming brochure output. Dust storms add a second tax — plan dry-season cleaning every 2–3 weeks. Cables and inverters also age faster in heat: keep the inverter in shade with ventilation, never in a sealed hot box.
Sizing under net billing
With strong sun and low export rates, south Punjab rewards self-consumption sizing more than anywhere: match daytime usage, run pumps and heavy loads in solar hours, and pressure-test quotations before signing.
Multan's sun-hours are built into the complete calculator; check any installer's numbers with the payback calculator.