[SMM PV News] Pakistan Shifts to Net Billing

French energy giant Engie recently announced it will fully acquire the UK's largest distribution network operator, UK Power Networks (UKPN), for an equity consideration of approximately £10.5 billion (around $14.2 billion). This transaction marks the strategic exit of the original controlling shareholder, the consortium led by Li Ka-shing's Cheung Kong Group, after holding the asset for 16 years.

In recent years, the PV industry has entered a period of deep adjustment, with module prices continuing to decline, and both upstream and downstream segments of the industry chain facing severe profit compression. Driven by the imperative of "extreme cost reduction," PV glass, a key auxiliary material for PV modules, has imposed increasingly stringent requirements on the cost and quality of upstream raw materials.

The Bolivian government has approved Supreme Decree 5549, a significant amendment to its electricity regulations that creates a new "medium-scale" distributed generation category for renewable projects between 1 MW and 6 MW. Under the new rules, these projects can connect directly to medium-voltage networks with simple regulatory authorization, bypassing the complex requirement for a full generation concession.