Budget 2024-25: Production of solar panels, inverters and batteries becomes cheaper - Must Read - Aaj English TV

https://english.aaj.tv/news/330365159/budget-2024-25-production-of-...

According to the finance bill, the government has eliminated all taxes on machinery and equipment used in the manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries, most of these were subjected to taxes ranging from 5% to 20%.

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Pakistan’s energy system strained by surge in solarization, battery tech

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1215486-pakistan-s-energy-system-s...

ISLAMABAD: The rapid solarization and advancements in battery technology are increasingly challenging Pakistan’s existing energy system.

The influx of over 7,000 megawatts of imported capacity, coupled with some industrialists and bulk consumers installing in-house plants of up to 1.5 megawatts, threatens to disrupt long-term agreements with Independent Power Producers (IPPs).

This situation is exacerbated by mounting frustration among power consumers, who are being burdened with substantial multi-billion-rupee capacity charges on their monthly bills.

The provincial governments, especially Punjab and Sindh’s distribution of solar panels to the public, will further pressurise the system, as they will now be drawing less from the grid and so the burden of capacity charges will increase and ultimately the tariff, which will further take away consumers from the grid power.

“Various bulk consumers have done aggressive solarization, even they installed capacity of up to 1.5 megawatts and have kept the grid at backup,” Chairman Nepra Waseem Mukhtar said while presiding over a public hearing on Wednesday adding, “It’s [solarization] a threat.”

The Nepra chairman said that this 7,000 MW imported solar capacity is not for only rooftops, bulk consumers are also installing their big capacities. He also tasked the CPPA with conducting a study on solar energy usage, mapping and submitting a report to Nepra.

Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) while pleading the case on behalf of Discos reported that electricity consumption in June 2024 was 10 percent lower than the reference period consumption, while two percent less than last year.

Waseem Mukhtar said that the government has launched a study to determine if Pakistan requires additional power generation capacity. He emphasized the need for a logical approach to adding more electricity to the national grid. The study is also evaluating that Commercial Operating Dates (CoDs) for some plants may be postponed, he said, mentioning that the study will determine which plants can be retired early.

California slashes payments to new rooftop-solar… | Canary Media

https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/solar/california-slashes-payme...

With its new plan, the CPUC aims to allow all customers to earn enough money from their rooftop-solar systems to pay back the cost of installing them within nine years. That’s a longer payback period than the average of five to seven years under the current net-metering scheme.

But solar groups and some consumer advocates say that the CPUC’s calculations are flawed, and that the complexities and uncertainties of the new net-billing structure could push payback periods beyond that nine-year target. They also warn that companies that finance solar installations will be leery of lending to projects under the new regime, potentially restricting the market even further.

In a memo last week, pro-rooftop-solar group Save California Solar highlighted how dramatic the reduction in export values would be for customers of California’s three big utilities compared to reductions adopted in recent years in other states.

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One of the biggest uncertainties surrounding the CPUC’s changes is whether they’ll successfully encourage far more customers to add batteries that can store solar power and then export it when the grid needs it most. Finding ways to store excess solar generated at midday and save it for hot summer evenings, when California faces increasing risk of grid shortfalls, has become a central part of the state’s clean energy policy for utility-scale solar as well as distributed solar.

That’s a much different set of challenges than when California’s net-metering policy was first enacted in 1995, CPUC President Alice Reynolds said at Thursday’s meeting. ​“During the daytime, the electric grid is now powered largely by renewable systems both large and small,” she said. ​“There are even moments when we need to curtail” — or order large-scale solar systems to stop producing power — ​“because we have too much on the grid at once.”

The CPUC’s new structure is meant to make batteries more valuable than solar alone and enable solar-plus-battery installations to earn back their costs in between eight and nine years, slightly less time than solar-only installations. Exports of solar power to the grid during high-demand evening hours in summer months will be compensated at levels higher than current retail rates, providing battery owners an opportunity to speed up payback.

The CPUC’s decision will also require all new rooftop-solar owners to enroll in ​“electrification rates” that charge far more for electricity during peak hours and far less during hours when grid demand is lower. (The rates are intended to encourage people to electrify their homes and stop using fossil gas, hence the name.) Batteries could allow solar-equipped homes to take advantage of these highly differentiated hourly rates, so they can buy from the grid when rates are low and use their own stored rooftop power when rates are high.

Indian reliance on Chinese imports is challenge for U.S. trade strategy - The Washington Post


https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/09/02/india-china-manufac...

NEW DELHI — American businesses looking to reduce their reliance on China have increasingly been eyeing India in the past few years as a new manufacturing hub — and as a hedge against potential disruptions in Chinese supply chains caused by rising geopolitical tensions or another pandemic.

But as India has amped up its production of goods like smartphones, solar panels and medicine, the Indian economy itself has become even more dependent on Chinese imports, in particular for the components that go into these products, according to trade figures and economic analysts.

This dynamic serves as a reality check for U.S. policymakers, who have been urgently promoting efforts to diversify supply chains away from Chinese factories and “de-risk” the commercial relationship with China.

“Unless China stops being the third party from where components come in and we just assemble, that de-risking is not going to happen for any country coming in and producing in India,” said Sriparna Pathak, an associate professor at Jindal University focusing on India-China relations.



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To support the production of Indian textiles and garments, another important export industry, India has been ramping up imports of yarn and fabric from China. Even the automobile industry — considered a success story for both domestic and export sales — has been increasing its imports of vehicle parts and accessories from China.

As with electronics, India has made significant strides in producing solar panels but now relies even more on the Chinese solar cells that go in them.

After the United States restricted imports of Chinese solar panel material because of concerns about human rights and labor abuses, Indian exports of solar panels to the American market spiked in 2022, increasing in value by almost 150 percent, according to U.S. government trade figures. The next year saw an even sharper increase.



During that time, however, India sourced between half and all of its solar panel components — such as modules, cells, wafers and solar glass — from China between 2021 and 2023, according to a BloombergNEF report at the end of last year.

Senior Biden administration officials said it is not realistic to think that inputs from China can be excluded at this moment from American supply chains. “We have taken a more practical view that in order to effectively diversify, the first step is to get a foothold in the parts of this supply chain where you can diversify today. And then from there you can grow upstream,” said a senior administration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive strategies toward China.

Addressing the significant presence of Chinese components in Indian-made solar panels, the official said: “We recognize we are in the first inning of a long game, but we are at an inflection point in that there is now a clear recognition, not just in the U.S. and India but among friends and allies, that being overly reliant on one source for the clean-energy economy is not sustainable and requires a concerted effort to de-risk. But it’s going to take time.”

Electricity Tariff for Pakistan Residential Consumers- July 2024

https://arynews.tv/electricity-tariff-for-pakistan-residential-cons...

ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet approved significant increase in the electricity tariff for residential consumers using 100 to 500 units per month, ARY news reported.

According to the details, the new basic tariff is fixed at Rs 48.84 per unit, which will increase to Rs 57.63 per unit after sales tax. With adjustments and other taxes, the maximum electricity tariff will exceed Rs 65 per unit.

As per the decision taken by the federal cabinet, the monthly tariff for consumers using 1 to 100 units is proposed to Rs 23.59, while those using 101 to 200 units will have to pay Rs 30.07 per unit.

Similarly, the tariff for those consumers using 201 to 300 units will increase to Rs 34.26, and those using 301 to 400 units will have to pay Rs 39.15 per unit.

The consumers using 401 to 500 units will be charged the most as they will have to pay Rs 41.36 per unit

Pakistan’s power sector caused a Rs403 billion loss in FY2022-23, revealed the National Electronic Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) report earlier.

The progress report of the power distribution companies including K-Electric was released by the NEPRA, indicating nine distribution companies including K-Electric failed to achieve 100pc recovery.

The line losses and low recoveries caused a loss of Rs403 bln to the national kitty, the report said. The report highlighted that the companies did not buy the electricity as per the assigned quota.

The companies carrying out loadshedding ‘deliberately’ as they are not buying electricity as per their quotas, the report said.

According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Pakistan's total solar installed capacity was 1,244 megawatts as of 2023, an increase of 17% compared to 2021. The country's government has proposed several efforts to raise the percentage of solar energy. Source: https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/pakistan-solar-...


https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/pakistan-solar-....

Pakistan Solar Energy Market Analysis

The Pakistan Solar Energy Market size in terms of installed base is expected to grow from 1.41 gigawatt in 2024 to 9.53 gigawatt by 2029, at a CAGR of 46.55% during the forecast period (2024-2029).
Over the medium term, increasing adoption of solar PV systems, the declining price of solar panels and installation costs, and rising environmental concerns about the use of fossil fuels are the factors driving the market's growth.
On the other hand, the market is expected to be hampered by issues like transmission and distribution losses, a need for a solidified renewable energy policy, and unpredictability in the continuity of power supply.
However, Pakistan has abundant solar irradiance and receives solar energy almost yearly. This factor presents a phenomenal opportunity to exploit solar energy from the most irradiated sites in the country, combined with foreign investments. Additionally, the off-grid supply through micro- and mini-grids to electrify rural communities of the country and the integration of renewable energy sources in generation, transmission, and distribution systems are some factors expected to create opportunities for the market in the future.





Pakistan Solar Energy Market Trends


The Utility Sector is Expected to Dominate the Market



Solar energy converts energy from sunlight into electricity directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power.
Due to the falling cost of solar modules and the number of upcoming projects, the utility sector will likely be the most significant part of the Pakistani solar energy market over the next few years.
The Pakistani government has established lofty objectives, such as 30% of the nation's power coming from renewable sources by 2030. Through the Alternative Energy Development Board, the government is attempting to construct solar power facilities nationwide to meet these objectives.
According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Pakistan's total solar installed capacity was 1,244 megawatts as of 2023, an increase of 17% compared to 2021. The country's government has proposed several efforts to raise the percentage of solar energy.
In December 2023, Orient Energy Systems and JA Solar announced they completed Pakistan's first n-type utility-scale photovoltaic power plant project. The project adopts JA Solar's n-type high-efficiency modules, which have a capacity of 26 megawatts. It is installed on the premises of Lucky Cement plant, Pakistan's largest cement manufacturer.
In March 2024, Hanersun Technologies agreed with My Energy, a local company, to construct a 500MW solar system in the country. The project is expected to have an investment of around USD 700 million.
Hence, with government support, these projects are expected to make the utility sector the dominant force in Pakistan's solar energy industry in the coming years. Source: https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/pakistan-solar-...

In Pakistan, the residential sector is the largest consumer of electricity, followed by the industrial sector:
Residential: The largest consumer of electricity, accounting for 47% of total electricity consumption in 2021–2022. The average household consumes 2,469 kWh per year.
Industrial: Consumed 28% of total electricity consumption in 2021–2022.
Commercial: Consumed 7% of total electricity consumption in 2021–2022.
Agricultural: Consumed 9% of total electricity consumption in 2021–2022.
Other sectors: Consumed 8% of total electricity consumption in 2021–2022.
Pakistan's electricity is mainly generated by fossil fuel-based thermal power plants, which account for 62% of the total electricity generation. Hydroelectric power plants account for 26% of the total annual electricity.

https://finance.gov.pk/survey/chapter_24/14_energy.pdf

https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/11/566#:~:text=Pakistan%20is%20am...(Figure%201).

Arif Habib Limited
@ArifHabibLtd
Power Generation drops 17.4% YoY in Aug'24

(Grid) Power generation declined by 17.4% YoY to arrive at 13,179 GWh (17,714 MW) during Aug'24, compared to 15,959 GWh (21,450MW) during SPLY. Moreover, on a MoM basis, power generation witnessed a dip of 11.4%. For 2MFY25, power generation fell by 8.9% YoY to 28,059 GWh (18,857 MW) compared to 30,798 GWh (20,697 MW) in the SPLY.

During Aug’24, the actual power generation was 13.1% lower than the reference generation. This decline in generation is expected to result in higher capacity charges for the 2QFY25 QTA.

https://x.com/ArifHabibLtd/status/1836714300620337340

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Chinese solar panel boom threatens Pakistan’s debt-ridden grid

https://www.ft.com/content/69e4cb33-3615-4424-996d-5aee9d1afe19

Businesses in Pakistan are racing to cover their factory rooftops with ultra-cheap Chinese solar panels, after a surge in electricity prices that has made the state-owned power supply among the most expensive in South Asia. “Every bit of space I have, even if it’s a few feet, I want it covered in solar panels,” said Khawaja Masood Akhtar, chief executive of Forward Sports, whose factory near the Indian border is one of the world’s largest makers of footballs and a rare example of a successful export business. His company had already doubled the level of solar in its energy mix to 50 per cent over the past two years, in response to pressure to go green from Adidas, which contracts Forward to churn out millions of balls each year.



Akhtar is now ploughing a chunk of last year’s profits into importing another haul of panels from China to lift the share of solar supply to his operations to 80 per cent by next April, to blunt the impact of soaring tariffs for state-provided power. “It’s the only way we can beat our competitors” in China and India, he said. “Allah has given us this gift to get out of this mess.” China is also involved on the other side of the “mess”. In order to put an end to widespread electricity shortages a decade ago, the Pakistani government drew in billions of dollars from Chinese and other lenders to its power sector with promises of sovereign-backed, dollar-indexed returns and commitments to pay for even unused electricity. Financing mostly flowed to the coal-fired plants, and power tariffs in Pakistan have more than doubled over the past three years alone, as the cash-strapped government scaled back subsidies and passed the capacity payments made to power producers on to consumers. In response, moneyed Pakistanis have capitalised on the country’s punishingly harsh sunlight by importing some $1.4bn worth of Chinese solar panels in the first half of this year, making it the third-largest national destination in the world, according to data compiled by BloombergNEF. Shimmering blue panels now sit atop a vast array of factories, high-end households, hospitals and mosques.




Irteza Ubaid, chief operating officer of Shams Power, a Lahore-based importer, said that multinational companies in Pakistan, including Coca-Cola, Mondelez and Hyundai, are gobbling up the panels he imports from China, as they chase savings of up to 70 per cent on their electricity bills. The federal government sees the switch to solar as being in the country’s environmental interests, as climate change has brought more extreme weather, including deadly heatwaves and floods, which caused the deaths of more than 1,500 in 2022.




But the mass adoption of solar panels also risked making the power provided by the Pakistani grid “unaffordable”, Awais Leghari, the energy minister, told the Financial Times. “Demand is shrinking off the grid. That’s a big concern for us.” Earlier this year, the ministry complained that “solarisation has grown too fast”, as a result of a policy to buy some excess solar power from households and industry at above-market prices. A remaining estimated 30mn low-income consumers who cannot afford the new solar panels or lack the rooftop space now face rocketing prices for the state-owned power supply.

Pakistan Is Only the Beginning of the Cheap Solar Revolution

By Ryan Cooper, managing editor at The American Prospect, and author of the book "How Are You Going to Pay for That?: Smart Answers to the Dumbest Question in Politics."

No need for expensive imported fuel when your energy is coming from the sun.

https://heatmap.news/economy/pakistan-solar

Pakistan imported a whopping 13 gigawatts of solar panels, mostly from China, in just the first half of 2024, mostly for rooftop installations for homes and businesses. That’s a mind-boggling amount of new solar for a country that only had about 50 gigawatts of installed generation capacity in total in 2023.
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Fuel imports are one of the largest expenses for even prosperous countries. For places like Pakistan, they are a punishing economic drain. Paying for vast amounts of imported coal, gas, and oil in scarce foreign currency is hard enough in good times, but it’s disastrous when one’s currency has depreciated by about 40% over two years.

Dirt cheap solar power could ameliorate or solve many of these problems at a stroke. Panels are now so cheap, even Pakistan can afford to import them by the millions — an expense, yes, but a one-time one. And while solar is inherently intermittent, and therefore not a solution to Pakistan’s reliability problems, batteries are also plummeting in price — down about 90% between 2010 and 2023 — and can help balance out supply. Cheaper batteries also mean cheaper EVs, with (as usual) Chinese models coming out at bewilderingly low prices. And because Pakistanis mostly drive motorcycles (often manufactured domestically) over relatively short distances, electrifying the personal vehicle fleet there will be far cheaper than in America or Europe; vastly smaller batteries require vastly simpler charging infrastructure.

If all goes well, this will free up vast amounts of economic capacity for Pakistan to invest in domestic development. Businesses will have stable, reliable power supplies that will justify more investment. Households will be able to upgrade their insulation, install heat pumps, and generally spend more on things other than energy. The government will be able to upgrade legacy transmission lines to accommodate solar production from the remaining hydro and nuclear plants.

Finally, of course, there is the climate benefit. Pakistan is one of the countries most threatened by climate change. Summer heat waves are bad and getting worse, to the point where murderous wet bulb events are increasingly likely. Catastrophic warming-fueled storms in 2022 caused the worst flooding in the country’s history, inundating about a third of Pakistan’s land area, killing nearly 2,000 people and causing billions of dollars in damages.

In short, a path to economic development will be opened. It is by no means guaranteed, but it will be a heck of a lot easier than trying to dig out from under the debt mountain of the collapsing coal-powered system. Look around the developing world and you’ll find there are a great many nations in similar situations.

Pakistan emerged as second-largest market for Chinese photovoltaic products | REVE News of the wind sector in Spain and in the world


https://www.evwind.es/2024/10/02/pakistan-emerged-as-second-largest...

Pakistan has emerged as a significant new market for Chinese photovoltaic (PV) companies, aligning with its path toward energy transformation.

According to statistics from the China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA), in the first half of 2024, Asia overtook Europe as the largest export destination for PV products and Pakistan has become the second-largest market for module exports after Europe.

During the same period, China exported inverters worth a total of RMB 1.714 billion to Pakistan. In August alone, the total value of inverter exports to Pakistan reached 326 million yuan, showing a year-on-year surge of 429.04%. And shimmering blue panels now sit atop a vast array of factories, households, hospitals and mosques.

The surge in exports of photovoltaics and supporting products reflects the urgency of turning to new energy power generation in Pakistan, China Economic Net reported on Tuesday.

“Electricity prices continue to rise; thus, people are trying to find their own way out,” Abbas a Pakistani trader said at the Investment and Trade Forum for Cooperation between East and West China.

As of June 2023, the installed capacity of solar power in Pakistan stood at 630 megawatts, namely 1.4% of the overall installed power capacity, which has a huge room for improvement.

In terms of natural conditions, according to the World Bank’s Global Solar Atlas data, taking Balochistan with good lighting conditions as an example, the average annual total photovoltaic output power of a 1KW household photovoltaic system can reach 1990kWh (corresponding to approximately 1990h of sunlight), which is approximately 41% and 59% higher than New Delhi, India and Shandong Province, China, respectively; the Global Tilted Irradiance (GTI) can reach 2536.5KWh/square meter, which is approximately 36% and 61% higher than New Delhi, India and Shandong Province, China respectively.

In terms of policies, for the past few years, the Pakistani government has highly supported the development of renewable energy, setting a strategic goal of increasing the share of renewable energy and alternative energy in Pakistan’s electricity market to 20% by 2025 and to 30% by 2030.

The IGCEP2047 released by NEPRA showed that Pakistan’s PV installed capacity will achieve leapfrog growth in the next few years. It is expected that by 2030, the PV installed capacity will reach 12.8GW, and by 2047 it is expected to reach 26.9GW. According to calculations, in order to achieve the 2030/2047 goals, the average annual new PV installed capacity needs to reach 1.65/1.07GW respectively.

Businesses in Pakistan are racing to cover their factory rooftops with reasonably priced Chinese solar panels. “Every bit of space I have, even if it’s a few feet, I want it covered in solar panels,” said Khawaja Masood Akhtar, chief executive of Forward Sports, whose factory is one of the world’s largest makers of footballs. His company had already doubled the level of solar in its energy mix to 50% over the past two years. Akhtar is now ploughing a chunk of last year’s profits into importing another haul of panels from China to lift the share of solar supply to his operations to 80% by next April.

Pakistan's farmers feel the (solar) power | UNIDO

https://www.unido.org/stories/pakistans-farmers-feel-solar-power

In the photo (above), a smallholder farmer from Bhagwela, Rahim Yar Khan, in Punjab province, inspects her solar tube well, a type of water pumping system that utilizes solar energy to bring up water from underground sources, such as wells or boreholes. It is an eco-friendly and cost-effective alternative to the diesel or mains electricity-powered pumps commonly used in agricultural irrigation.

With the solar-powered tube well irrigating her farmland, the farmer has cut costs and improved her crop yields. She is one of the nearly 500 women and men engaged in farming and running small enterprises in the provinces of Punjab and Sindh who UNIDO has helped apply renewable energy solutions for productive uses. The National Rural Support Programme (NRSP), a leading microfinance and development organization in Pakistan, provides loans for the procurement and installation of renewable energy solutions, and UNIDO covers the interest payments so that the loans are interest-free.

Another farmer, Kaneez Fatima, from the Sargodha district in Punjab, expressed her thanks. "I own a small piece of land, and access to water and electricity is always a problem. I received UNIDO's assistance through the NRSP - an interest-free loan to purchase a 2KW solar panel to run a tube well to irrigate my land. The installation process was extremely smooth, according to the land irrigation needs and water level."

The electricity costs for beneficiaries have drastically dipped. A post-installation impact survey conducted by the NRSP found that 80% of respondents reported savings of of up to 15,000 Pakistani rupees (around €50) a month, with the other 20% saving even more.

Small farmers and entrepreneurs have been suffering from fuel price hikes in recent times. Agriculture and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the mainstays of Pakistan's economy, providing jobs for around two-thirds of the population.

Rashid Bajwa, CEO of the NRSP, laments the impact of the enegy crisis on the economy. "The majority of our population generates income that is barely enough to meet their needs and the situation is getting worse," says Bajwa. "We need to adapt and improvise, and alternative or green energy just might be the solution that will enable our SME sector to sustain and grow."

The farms and businesses supported by UNIDO have not only reduced costs by switching from diesel, they are also helping save the climate. With a capacity to produce 1,825 MWh of clean energy a year, the project beneficiaries will be able to avoid more than 800 metric tons of CO2 emissions annually.

Shah Jahan Mirza, Managing Director of the government agency, the Private Power and Infrastructure Board, commended UNIDO for introducing renewable energy technogology to smallholder farmers and small enterprises in Punjab and Sindh provinces. "These rural communities generally don't have funding to finance these systems. There are also doubts and misconceptions about these technologies, i.e. they are not reliable and very costly, or may not help. Providing interest-free loans is a breakthrough. UNIDO has taken a lead in this which will go a long way, as the people have now started using this technology. "

The UNIDO initiative is part of a bigger project, Sustainable Energy Initiative for Industries in Pakistan, funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). Collaborating with public and private partners, UNIDO has facilitated investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy in 50 industrial units. In addition, UNIDO has placed significant emphasis on capacity building, and has trained more than 625 professionals, including 30 women, in energy management systems and energy optimization.

The project has yielded significant results, implementing more than 12MW of renewable energy projects in the industrial sector, and thereby reducing over 17,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions.

Pakistan ends power deals to save $1.48 billion, cut tariffs | Reuters

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/pakistans-biggest-private-u...

Government to save 411 billion rupees
Negotiations with more power producers underway
IMF bailout talks influenced decision to revisit power deals

KARACHI, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Pakistan's government has ended power purchase contracts with five private companies, including one with the country's largest utility that should have been in place until 2027, to cut costs, officials said on Thursday.
The news confirms comment from Power Minister Awais Leghari to Reuters last month that the government was re-negotiating deals with independent power producers to lower electricity tariffs as households and businesses struggle to manage soaring energy costs.
"We studied these agreements and we decided what plants we need and what plants we don't need," Leghari told a news conference in Islamabad on Thursday, adding the termination of the take or pay agreements will save the nation nearly 411 billion rupees ($1.48 billion) in the coming years.
Take or pay is referred to as capacity payments in Pakistan where the government has to pay private companies irrespective of how much of the power they generate is transferred to its grid.

Negotiations have also begun with other power producers to revise their contracts, Leghari said, adding people would soon see the impact in their monthly bills.
"Our aim is to bring the tariff down," he said.
The need to revisit the deals was an issue in talks for a critical staff-level pact in July with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $7-billion bailout.
Earlier on Thursday Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Pakistan has agreed with five independent power producers to revisit purchase contracts. He said that would save the country 60 billion rupees a year.

Pakistan's biggest private utility, Hub Power Company Ltd (HPWR.PSX), opens new tab, also said the company agreed to prematurely end a contract with the government to buy power from a southwestern generation project.
In a note to the Pakistan Stock Exchange, it said the government had agreed to meet its commitments up to Oct. 1, instead of an initial date of March 2027, in an action taken "in the greater national interest".

Home Batteries Are Cheaper Than Ever - CNET


https://www.cnet.com/home/energy-and-utilities/home-batteries-are-c...

The quoted battery prices have dropped to $1,133 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of energy storage capacity -- a 16% drop from last year. Lower battery costs are a result of streamlined manufacturing processes, especially in China, and the decreasing cost of materials. In fact, 70% of the world's lithium-ion cell production happens in China, according to IDTechEX.

As prices have fallen, consumer interest in home battery products has increased. However, most people still prefer to purchase a battery with a solar panel system. According to the EnergySage report, 34% of US customers who bought a solar system chose to include a battery during the first half of 2024, a trend that is expected to continue to rise.

Which home batteries are the most popular?
In terms of popularity, Tesla and Enphaseremain the most quoted battery brands on EnergySage, exceeding 75% of the market share when combined. Tesla saw an 11% growth in overall market share within the past six months, likely due to the recent launch of the Tesla Powerwall 3, which more than doubles the power of the previous model.



Tesla's Powerwall 3 is also incredibly cheap for home battery standards. EnergySage says the current cost of the Powerwall 3 is $1,000 per kWh of storage. The Powerwall 3 has 13.5 kWh of energy storage capacity; that's about $13,500. But this doesn't include the cost of battery installation. We were quoted $16,551 for the cost of installing one Powerwall 3 on a home in Fort Mill, South Carolina, via Tesla's website. The estimate includes the cost of the battery, gateway device, accessories, installation and taxes.

Tesla and Enphase aren't the only battery brands out there that are fighting for space in the market. FranklinWH, SolarEdge, EG4 and SunPower are starting to take over what's left of the market. However, SunPower has discontinued its energy storage product and recently filed for bankruptcy.



Interest in home batteries
Consumer interest in home batteries has more than tripled year-over-year, according to EnergySage. This is especially apparent in California, where the battery and solar panel attachment rate has skyrocketed since the net billing changes in April. The attachment rate outside California also saw a 22% increase, especially in states that don't have consumer-friendly net metering policies like Tennessee and Georgia. This makes holding onto your excess energy more valuable than selling it to the utility company.

Pakistan to reform power distribution after IMF meetings, minister says
Owais Rawda explores what the most recent request for IMF climate funding means for power sector reform.

https://www.power-technology.com/comment/pakistan-to-reform-power-d...

At last week’s International Monetary Fund (IMF) Annual Meetings, Pakistan’s finance minister Muhammad Aurangzeb requested $1bn in funding from the IMF’s Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST) to help mitigate the country’s climate risks and accelerate its energy transition. Established in 2022, the RST offers vulnerable low- and middle-income countries long-term concessional cash for climate-related spending.

Pakistan’s power sector circular debt, driven by inefficiencies in the power distribution network, crossed Rs2.66tn ($9.5bn) in May, according to a debt report released by the government’s power division. Meanwhile, citizens have suffered significant and frequent power outages in recent years, leaving millions without electricity.

The government’s faulty capacity payment contracts with independent power producers (IPPs) have come to light as the primary source of these challenges. Interest rates borne from private IPPs have not only worsened the debt crisis but spiked consumer tariffs, making electricity unaffordable.

In light of Aurangzeb’s request, coupled with multiple IPPs terminating their contracts with the government, the South Asian nation is now likely to announce significant reforms.

“These IPP payments had a detrimental effect on the overall quality of life for our citizens,” Awais Laghari, Pakistan’s minister for energy’s power division, tells Power Technology. “It is imperative that necessary steps are taken to resolve the issue.”

Without specifying the plans, he claims that the power division is currently evaluating options “through which the fiscal burden shared by the consumer, whether through taxes or debt repayments, can be optimised through various interventions that improves household economics and consumption at the same time”.

Laghari says that there are also plans to “unbundle electricity” and create a competitive market for energy, citing the recent introduction of an independent system and market operator (ISMO) as a step in this direction.

“This will ensure that a B2B [business-to-business] market for electricity can develop, which can eventually evolve into a B2B2C [business-to-business-to-consumer] market thereby providing greater options for consumers and lower prices through a competitive process,” he says.

The minister adds that the role of renewables in reforming the country’s power market will be imperative, “given their price advantage”. He believes that their ability to generate cheap electricity will “always put them ahead in any competitive market regime, making them critical to the success of the market.”

Following the IMF meetings, Laghari says that the government plans to “move forward actively” with the privatisation of electricity distribution companies and that “necessary improvements in governance are already underway”.

He believes that privatisation can enhance the efficiency of these companies, allowing them to remain a key player in the power market, which in turn will result in more affordable prices for consumers.

“Similarly, we continue to focus on investment in transmission to remove constraints so that lower cost electricity generated in the South can be moved across the country and overall consumer tariff can be reduced.”

About the author: Owais Rawda is a regulatory policy researcher that has written about the energy and technology industries.

Is distributed solar energy a game-changer for emerging economies? | World Economic Forum

https://www.weforum.org/stories/2024/10/distributed-solar-energy-em...

Distributed solar energy and other green tech, is helping to transform energy from a commodity to a technology, enabling energy-independence in emerging economies like Pakistan.
Solar energy boosts economic growth by offering affordable energy, driving business expansion and increasing job opportunities.
Solar energy fosters greater energy autonomy, reduces political dependence on centralized systems, improves governance and contributes to lower carbon emissions.
Under the scorching sun in Lahore, Pakistan, the hum of factory machinery persists uninterrupted. Just a year ago, frequent power outages would have stopped production. Today, a collection of solar panels on its roof keeps everything running. This scene is one of thousands happening across buildings in Pakistan, marking a quiet but powerful shift in how emerging economies power their growth.

At Exponential View, we identify distributed solar energy as a key factor for the future, offering cheaper and more accessible electricity. As our research suggests, this grassroots transformation has the potential to redefine economic opportunities and provide energy independence for millions in developing nations, reshaping their futures.

Solar is changing energy from a commodity, like fossil fuels, to a technology, bringing two key benefits. First, as solar technology improves, its cost continues to drop. Between 2010 and 2023, the price of solar energy has fallen by 33.4% every time production has doubled. In contrast, fossil fuel prices are controlled by global markets and politics.

Second, solar panels let people generate power locally, giving them more control over their energy. Unlike fossil fuels, which depend on expensive, unstable grids and resources from other regions, solar power allows individuals to become more energy-independent.

As batteries become cheaper, this independence will grow and energy generation could become increasingly decentralized. Emerging economies are leading this transformation and Pakistan is one of the clearest examples this year.

Pakistan’s solar boom
Pakistan is now the third-largest importer of Chinese solar panels, buying an incredible 13 gigawatts (GW) in just the first half of this year. To compare, the United Kingdom is expected to add only 1.5-2GW of solar capacity this year and the United States added 32GW in 2023. This likely makes Pakistan the sixth-largest installer of solar panels in 2024 but locally, the impact is even bigger.

In six months, Pakistan imported solar capacity equal to 30% of its total power capacity, which was 46GW in 2023.

However, Pakistan’s regulator, NEPRA, only tracks grid-connected or officially registered installations. Geospatial data shows solar panels spreading across factories, homes and even government buildings, pointing to an under-the-radar revolution in energy production.

Optimizing Pakistan's economy by renegotiating power purchase agreements
December 05, 2024
Haneea Isaad

https://ieefa.org/resources/optimizing-pakistans-economy-renegotiat...

Developing countries in Asia and Africa, riddled with excess capacity payments and a surplus of generation capacity, are using contract renegotiation to lower their economic burden and conserve the foreign exchange. In Pakistan, Independent Power Producers (IPPs) have allegedly made excessive profits by under-reporting efficiency gains and over-invoicing, thus necessitating complex power purchase agreement (PPA) renegotiations. Contracts with five IPPs have already been terminated, while 18 others face a possible conversion to a take-and-pay basis.

Renegotiations require both parties to offer concessions to arrive at a deal. For the five IPPs with terminated contracts, two publicly listed companies may have waived some receivables while taking the government’s offered settlement. Lalpir Power Plant, a 362 megawatts (MW) furnace oil-based plant located in Muzaffargarh, took a haircut of PKR7 billion. HubCo’s 1292MW furnace oil-based power plant was offered PKR36.5 billion in compensation, almost PKR20 billion less than the total company valuation as of June 2024.

Renegotiation of concession agreements is not an unusual practice in the power sector, especially under destabilizing economic conditions such as macroeconomic shocks. Ghana, like Pakistan, has struggled with energy sector reforms prompted by rising power sector debt and unpaid dues. The country recently underwent a similar situation, successfully renegotiating contracts with five IPPs, including debt structuring and conversion to a take-and-pay system.

The government in Pakistan has attempted PPA renegotiations in 1998, 2012, 2020, and now in 2024. IPPs allege that repeated contract renegotiations and coercive tactics will hurt investor confidence and future expansion opportunities in the power sector.

An examination of the PPA terms reveals that the incentives offered to IPPs have been overly generous with backstopped payment guarantees, dollar indexation, and high return on equity allowances, contributing to Pakistan’s ever-rising power sector circular debt.

Considering that the IPPs under review have paid off their debts and have earned reasonable returns on equity, contract termination or conversion to a take-and-pay basis is a reasonable proposition given Pakistan’s persistent economic struggles and foreign exchange shortage.

While renegotiation could allow the government to save scarce economic resources, the IPPs may also have a chance at quick compensation for unpaid dues or the ability to sell power to secondary markets once Competitive Trading Bilateral Contract Market (CTBCM) reforms are operationalized. However, the negotiation process should be commercial and transparent to ensure optimal outcomes.

Recent documents indicate that there are pending applications for solar net metering with a total capacity of 58,822 megawatts (MW), far surpassing the nation’s existing power generation capacity of 46,000 MW, as reported by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA).


https://www.techjuice.pk/4742-pending-net-metering-applications-exc...

IESCO currently holds the highest number of pending applications, totaling 1,363 requests that amount to a capacity of 12,276 MW. Among the significant backlogs are GEPCO, which has 117 requests totaling 6,282 MW, LESCO with 699 requests for 6,143 MW. Additionally, FESCO has 871 requests amounting to 12,399 MW, while K-Electric has 773 requests for 10,164 MW.

Delays are primarily attributed to the elevated buy-back rates associated with the net metering system. NEPRA has urged for a thoughtful reassessment of the tariff framework to tackle this concern. The authority has proposed that support for individual solar consumers should take precedence over large-scale solar projects to attain more favorable results.

Recent documents reveal that by June 30, 2024, more than 156,372 solar facilities, with a combined capacity of 2,200 MW, were established under the net metering program. The consumer base surged from 75,724 in FY2022-23 to an impressive 157,844 by the conclusion of FY2023-24, marking a significant doubling within a single year.

Update: However, according to the recent update on the NEPRA report, an earlier computation resulted in a 1000-fold misreport of the energy production capacity awaiting applications.

The power grid's battery capacity surged in 2024


https://www.marketplace.org/2025/03/12/the-electric-grids-battery-c...

Big banks of batteries are an important part of the renewable energy transition. Their role is to store power generated when the sun is shining or the wind is blowing so that it can be used when it’s dark or the wind is calm.

According to the Energy Information Administration, the U.S. made good progress on the battery storage front in 2024 — capacity grew 66%. And almost twice as much could be added to the grid this year.

A battery storage system isn’t much to look at. “It’s just, you know, a large, unremarkable set of rectangular structures hanging around,” said Michael Craig at the University of Michigan.

But inside those unremarkable rectangles are lithium-ion batteries.

Seth Feaster at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis said they have something pretty remarkable: “The ability to time-shift power.”

This means storing up power generated when demand is low, then pushing it out into the grid when demand is high.

A lot of these battery systems are up and running in Texas. Feaster said that the other morning at about 5 a.m., “the market power price in Texas was below $20. But once you hit about 6:30, 7 o’clock, as demand increases, power prices jump.”

So a power company could have charged its batteries on the cheap at 5 a.m. “and then gotten two or three or four times that price for that power during the morning period of peak demand.”

The costs associated with batteries have come down, said Joshua Rhodes at the University of Texas at Austin, thanks to their widespread use in electric vehicles, laptops, smartphones and storage systems.

“The price of lithium has gone down by, like, 80%. The cost of batteries to install, you know, has gone down by a factor of two or three,” said Rhodes.

Battery storage has also benefited from government incentives — including a tax credit in the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act. The GOP-controlled Congress could repeal it. But, said Allison Feeney at Wood Mackenzie, “even if the IRA phases out earlier or goes away entirely, we’ll still see strong storage installs, but they just won’t be probably as high.”

They could stay strong, she said, because demand for electricity is likely to increase. And battery storage is, for now, a cheaper way to meet that demand.

But there’s one more wild card on the price side, Feeney said. You guessed it — tariffs.

Pakistan cuts solar net-metering buyback rate to Rs10 per unit
ECC approves amendments to net-metering regulations to ease financial burden on grid consumers.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2534077/govt-revises-solar-net-meterin...

The government has reduced the buyback rate for electricity under net metering from Rs27 per unit to Rs10 per unit, citing a "significant increase in the number of solar net-metering consumers" and the resulting financial strain on grid consumers.

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet, chaired by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, approved amendments to the existing net-metering regulations aimed at alleviating the growing financial burden on grid consumers, according to a statement from the Finance Division.

As part of the approved changes, the ECC revised the buyback rate from the National Average Power Purchase Price (NAPP) to Rs10 per unit. The decision follows concerns about the financial impact of the rising number of solar net-metering consumers on the national power grid.

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) will now be authorised to revise the buyback rate periodically, ensuring the framework remains flexible and aligned with market conditions.

However, the revised framework will not apply to existing net-metered consumers who have valid licenses, agreements, or concurrence under the NEPRA (Alternative & Renewable Energy) Distributed Generation and Net Metering Regulations, 2015.

These agreements will remain effective until they expire, ensuring the rights and obligations of these consumers are upheld as per the original terms.

The ECC also approved an update to the settlement mechanism for electricity billing. Under the new structure, imported and exported units will be billed separately.


Exported units will be purchased at the new buyback rate of Rs10 per unit, while imported units will be charged according to peak/off-peak rates, inclusive of taxes and surcharges.

The Power Division was authorised to issue proposed guidelines, subject to Cabinet’s ratification, for NEPRA’s incorporation into the regulatory framework to ensure clarity and consistency in the implementation of these changes. The decision follows discussions on the growing impact of solar net-metering on the national power grid.

The Power Division highlighted the need for regulatory adjustments due to the record decline in solar panel prices, which has led to a sharp rise in the number of solar net-metering consumers.

As of December 2024, solar net-metering consumers had transferred a burden of Rs159 billion to grid consumers, a figure that is projected to grow to Rs4,240 billion by 2034 without timely amendments.

The number of solar net-metering consumers surged significantly, reaching 283,000 by December 2024, up from 226,440 in October, 2024. The total installed capacity also grew from 321 MW in 2021 to 4,124 MW by December, 2024, underscoring the rapid expansion of the sector.

However, the increase in solar net-metering consumers has led to a higher cost of electricity for grid consumers, undermining the government’s efforts to reduce power tariffs.

The ECC also discussed how these consumers avoid paying the fixed charge component of the tariff, which includes capacity charges and the fixed expenses of power distribution and transmission, placing a disproportionate financial burden on grid consumers.

The committee also noted that 80% of solar net-metering consumers are concentrated in nine major cities, with a significant portion located in affluent areas. This geographic concentration highlights the need for regulatory reforms to ensure fairness and balance within the energy distribution system.

Faysal Bank, Akhuwat Foundation, TCF partner for interest-free solar financing

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1290007-faysal-bank-akhuwat-founda...

KARACHI: Faysal Bank Limited (FBL) has strengthened its commitment to sustainability and women’s empowerment by partnering with Akhuwat Islamic Microfinance (AIM) and The Citizens Foundation (TCF), a statement said.

Under this collaboration, the bank aims to provide women with interest-free solar financing. Launched on International Women’s Day, this initiative reflects FBL’s long-term vision of creating an equitable and sustainable future while making a real impact through corporate social responsibility (CSR).

This initiative will allow educators and women across Pakistan to install solar systems with flexible repayment plans.

By promoting green energy, this initiative supports global climate goals. It helps reduce electricity costs, lowers carbon emissions, and lessens reliance on the national grid. Faysal Bank remains committed to meaningful change, ensuring financial relief and sustainability for educators—most of whom are women -- so they can continue shaping future generations.

Speaking on the occasion, President and CEO of Faysal Bank Yousaf Hussain stated: “At Faysal Bank, we believe that true progress is driven by sustainability and empowerment, leading to meaningful action. Through this initiative, we are not only promoting renewable energy but also alleviating financial burdens and fostering long-term resilience for women. In line with this year’s International Women’s Day theme, Accelerate Action, we remain steadfast in our commitment to creating a more inclusive, equitable, and sustainable future -- one where all women have the opportunity to thrive”.

Founder of Akhuwat Foundation Dr Amjad Saqib said: “Our collaboration is a step towards creating a more sustainable and equitable society. By offering interest-free solar financing, we are not only contributing to environmental conservation but also uplifting women and educators, providing them with financial independence and a cleaner, greener future. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Faysal Bank for supporting this noble cause.”

CEO of TCF Asad Ayub shared his remarks: “This partnership brings together our shared vision of empowering women and ensuring a sustainable future for the next generation. By providing access to solar energy, we are equipping women with the tools for a brighter, self-sufficient tomorrow. We are grateful to Faysal Bank and Akhuwat Foundation for making this initiative possible.”

Report: Pakistan to Unveil Crypto-Friendly Electricity Tariffs to Lure Miners – Mining Bitcoin News

https://news.bitcoin.com/report-pakistan-to-unveil-crypto-friendly-...

Pakistan is reportedly planning to develop a specialized electricity tariff regime for crypto mining and blockchain-based data centers.

In a significant move, Pakistan is reportedly developing specialized electricity tariffs to attract crypto mining and blockchain-based data centers, further loosening its past stance on cryptocurrencies. This initiative aims to capitalize on the country’s surplus power capacity, transforming a potential liability into a valuable asset while fostering growth in the burgeoning digital asset industry.
According to a Dawn report citing sources in Pakistan’s power ministry, extensive consultations are underway with stakeholders to formulate an attractive electricity tariff structure for emerging industries. This development follows a series of high-level discussions, including a recent meeting between Power Minister Awais Leghari and Bilal Bin Saqib, CEO of the newly formed Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC).

As reported by Bitcoin.com News, the PCC was launched with the mandate of integrating blockchain and digital assets into the financial system. The PCC’s inaugural meeting on March 21, presided over by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, further solidified the government’s interest in exploring the crypto space.

At this meeting, Saqib presented a vision for utilizing Pakistan’s surplus electricity for bitcoin mining, drawing significant attention from attendees, including State Bank Governor Jameel Ahmad and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan Chairman Akif Saeed.

In remarks commending the PCC’s first meeting, the Pakistani Finance Minister said, “This is the beginning of a new digital chapter for our economy. We are committed to building a transparent, future-ready financial ecosystem that attracts investment, empowers our youth, and puts Pakistan on the global map as a leader in emerging technologies.”

The PCC-sponsored initiative highlights the shift in Pakistan’s approach to cryptocurrencies. Previously, Pakistan regulators, including the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), warned against the use of cryptocurrencies, citing concerns about money laundering and financial instability. In 2023, the SBP and the Information Ministry considered banning cryptocurrencies altogether.

The government has since recognized the potential of blockchain technology and digital assets, leading to its latest attempt to attract miners.

Pakistan to cut power prices in a sign economy stabilising

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/pakistan-cut-power-tarif...

ISLAMABAD, April 3 (Reuters) - Pakistan will cut power prices for domestic and industrial users, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Thursday, in a sign of the economy's recovery from the brink of default.
The International Monetary Fund stepped in to stabilise the Asian country's finances with a standby arrangement in 2023 and then a $7 billion bailout last year.

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Lower power prices will be a relief to Pakistanis after several increases in the past couple of years.

Pakistan's $350 billion economy has been struggling since inflation rose to record high of 38.50% in May 2023, with growth turning negative, reserves shrinking to barely a couple of weeks of controlled imports, and interest rates jumping to 22%.
"We have successfully brought the inflation down to single digit," Sharif said, adding that the nearly 10-percentage-point reduction in the country's main interest rate in the last year would help businesses grow.

The tariff will be cut by an average 7.41 rupees ($0.0264) per kilowatt-hour to 34.47 rupees for domestic users, and by an average 7.59 rupees per kilowatt-hour to 40.60 rupees for industrial users, Sharif said.

Pakistan's electricity sector faces challenges despite growth in renewables, says 2025 review - Profit by Pakistan Today

https://profit.pakistantoday.com.pk/2025/05/10/pakistans-electricit...


One of the most notable developments in FY24 was the surge in imports of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels from China, which contributed to rapid growth in rooftop solar installations across the country. By March 2025, Pakistan had installed 4.9 GW of net-metered solar capacity. However, the review notes that a considerable number of behind-the-meter solar installations have not been documented, which could mean the actual capacity is even higher.

Pakistan’s total installed power generation capacity rose to 46.2 GW during FY24, following the addition of three new utility-scale solar plants. This brought the share of utility-scale renewables in the country’s generation mix from 6% to 7%. Despite these additions, the report highlights that the overall contribution of renewable energy sources—wind, solar, and bagasse—remained stagnant at 5%, well below the targeted 30% share by 2030.

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Pakistan Electricity Review 2025 highlights progress in solar installations but flags persistent issues like transmission bottlenecks and rising capacity payments.

The Pakistan Electricity Review 2025, launched by Renewables First, a think tank based in Islamabad, provides a detailed examination of Pakistan’s power sector during the fiscal year 2024 (FY24). The report identifies significant strides in the sector, particularly in renewable energy, but also points out several continuing challenges that hinder further progress.

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Pakistan’s total installed power generation capacity rose to 46.2 GW during FY24, following the addition of three new utility-scale solar plants. This brought the share of utility-scale renewables in the country’s generation mix from 6% to 7%. Despite these additions, the report highlights that the overall contribution of renewable energy sources—wind, solar, and bagasse—remained stagnant at 5%, well below the targeted 30% share by 2030.

Transmission bottlenecks and overloaded grid infrastructure were identified as key obstacles to the efficient transfer of power, particularly from the south to the energy-demanding north. These limitations forced the system operator to reduce dispatch from lower-cost plants, relying more on expensive RLNG-based generation, which led to a sharp increase in energy purchase costs. The total energy purchase cost surged to PKR 1.3 trillion, with RLNG generation accounting for PKR 568 billion, nearly 51% of the total.

The report also noted a decline in electricity sales for the second consecutive year, with overall sales falling by 3%. The industrial sector, in particular, saw an 11% year-on-year decrease in consumption, reflecting economic challenges and a shift towards more cost-competitive energy sources.

On the financial front, capacity payments rose to PKR 1.9 trillion, a 46% increase compared to FY23. This spike was largely driven by the commissioning of new coal and RLNG power plants, which carry high fixed costs. However, when these plants operate below optimal capacity, the cost is passed on to consumers, further straining the sector’s financial health. Despite these challenges, a reduction in electricity generation led to a modest 7% reduction in energy purchase prices.

The report also highlighted the growing issue of circular debt, which rose to PKR 2.4 trillion by the end of FY24, an increase of 3.6% over the previous year. This ongoing debt accumulation underscores the financial pressures faced by the sector.

The Pakistan Electricity Review 2025 serves as both a snapshot of the progress made in the energy sector and a stark reminder of the structural issues that continue to impede its growth. It calls for continued policy efforts to address these challenges as Pakistan strives to meet its renewable energy goals and ensure a more sustainable and efficient power sector.

Chinese battery glut plugs into solar boom to power Pakistan

https://www.ft.com/content/2b4c598e-a4b3-4c6e-9c38-97e46357f819

The combination of a glut of lithium, a key battery material, and overcapacity of lower-tier China-made batteries has created a flood of cut-price battery energy storage systems for lower-income countries such as Pakistan. Lucky is investing roughly Rs1.5bn ($5.3mn) to convert a rubble-strewn site into a 20.7MW unit supplied by the world’s biggest battery maker CATL, which can hold enough energy to power up to 20,000 homes for an hour. The battery energy storage system will be Pakistan’s largest to date, Lucky said. “A price collapse in wind, solar and batteries has made the payback periods very competitive,” said Hassan Mazhar Rizvi, the factory’s general manager for power generation. “This will ensure smooth operations, and increase our solar and wind portions.” Chinese solar panel prices have plummeted in recent years as the cost of electricity from Pakistan’s grid has surged, prompting the country of 240mn people to import solar panels with the capacity to generate about 19GW last year, according to Jenny Chase, BloombergNEF lead solar analyst. Pakistan is still buying panels that collectively could generate 1GW to 3GW a month this year, she estimated, enough to power a city of millions. The battery storage system will help factories to more cheaply extend their operations beyond daylight hours and scale back the use of fossil fuels, compensating for reliability issues from the grid’s renewable sources. For households, hooking up to a battery is a way to store enough energy to cope with spontaneous blackouts and avoid higher rates for energy from the grid during peak usage times in the evenings. “The limit on the [solar] boom was always likely to be the number of daylight hours,” said Chase. “Larger solar systems are useful, because as well as meeting instantaneous demand they can charge the battery for later.”

“Customer interest has gone through the roof,” said Mujtaba Haider Khan, chief executive of Reon Energy, a Karachi-based renewable energy and battery company. Reon’s energy storage systems, including the one purchased by Lucky, mix predictive software, CATL-made batteries and mostly Chinese-origin solar and wind technology, and can boost a factory’s clean energy usage and cut fossil fuel energy waste, said Khan. “Companies can now recover their investment in transitioning to predominantly renewable energy — using solar, wind and batteries — in less than two years.” The battery storage systems are still too expensive to be adopted as widely as solar has been in Pakistan in the near future. But distributors say prices are falling rapidly and demand continues to grow. Faaz Diwan, director at Karachi-based Diwan International, one of Pakistan’s largest solar and battery distributors, said the cost of the BYD batteries he sold had fallen by more than a third since last year to about Rs275,000 for a 5kWh unit that is enough to power a small house. His company has been importing more than 500 batteries a month since March, three times more than last year, as wealthier households, gyms, mosques and businesses gobble up storage systems to save money on air-conditioning ahead of summer.

Arab News Pakistan

@arabnewspk
#WATCH: Fisherman Abdul Ghani from a coastal village in Pakistan’s Sindh can now “catch good fish” using solar kit provided under World Bank-backed initiative.

For families like his, solar power is transforming life along the country’s southern coast. https://arab.news/cdkg7

https://x.com/arabnewspk/status/1929704592293454188

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Lit by the sun: How solar power is transforming lives along Pakistan’s southern coast

https://www.arabnews.pk/node/2603057/pakistan


Some 50,000 families in Sindh’s five coastal districts are set to receive solar kits under the World Bank-backed initiative
Project aims to add 400 megawatts to the national grid, 270 megawatts of which will facilitate consumers in Karachi


SUJAWAL, Sindh: Holding a battery in one hand and an LED light in the other, Abdul Ghani waded through the salty waters of the Arabian Sea to reach his small wooden boat.

It was just past sunset, the sky dimming fast, but Ghani had no fear as he had light.

Ghani is one of hundreds of Pakistani coastal residents who have benefited from a green energy initiative under the World Bank-backed Sindh Solar Energy Project (SSEP), a multi-component program that aims to bring sustainable power to over 1.2 million of the southern province’s poorest and most energy-deprived people.

While torches don’t offer adequate visibility in the vast seascape, and boat generators scare fish away when powered on, the battery-powered LED lights from the home energy system have proven to be an unexpected boon for nighttime fishing for residents like Ghani.

“Earlier, I couldn’t catch any fish, but now when I go fishing using these lights, by the grace of God, I catch good fish,” the 45-year-old fisherman from Karo Chan, a coastal village in Sujawal district located in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province, told Arab News.

“This helps me support my children and manage our livelihood.”

The project targets people either without any electricity or facing power cuts, identified through Pakistan’s national poverty scorecard, a data-driven assessment tool used to identify and prioritize assistance for low-income households.

“Each family has a solar system with fans, three LED light bulbs, mobile charging facility, along with a charge controller and a battery package,” Mehfooz Ahmed Qazi, the project director, told Arab News.

“All these cost Rs6,000 ($21), ten percent of the actual price, to instill a sense of ownership in the users.”

Qazi said the project, launched in October 2019 and set to be completed in July 2025, had four components: a 400-megawatt solar power initiative for grid integration, rooftop solar systems for public sector buildings including 34 district headquarter hospitals, off-grid solar home systems for poor households and the establishment of solar equipment standardization laboratories at NED University in Karachi and Mehran University in Jamshoro.

The key objective of the project is to promote the potential of green energy across the province.

Out of the 400 megawatts planned for grid integration, 270 megawatts will be added to the system of K-Electric — serving over 3.4 million customers in Karachi and surrounding areas in Sindh and Balochistan — not only increasing the share of green power but also helping reduce electricity tariffs for residents of Karachi.

By the end of the project, 34 megawatts of rooftop solar installations will be set up on buildings across the province, while 200,000 solar home systems will be distributed, benefiting 1.2 million families.

Of these, 50,000 families in five coastal districts, including Sujawal, will receive solar home systems under the third component of the project that started in February this year.

For families like Ghani’s, the change has been immediate and life changing.

“I turn on three lights,” he explained. “When we turn on the lights, small fish come. Seeing the small fish, the big ones also come. Where I place my net, both big and small fish come into it.”

From TechJuice:

A major shift is underway in Pakistan’s energy sector.

As electricity prices soar and solar technology becomes more affordable, the country’s import of battery energy storage systems (BESS) is accelerating. According to IEEFA, these imports are projected to reach 8.75 gigawatt-hours (GWh) by 2030.

BESS offers a crucial bridge to reliable, decentralized renewable energy infrastructure. For Pakistan, this could mean more stable grids, reduced fossil dependence, and long-term cost savings.

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Battery storage and the future of Pakistan's electricity grid

https://ieefa.org/resources/battery-storage-and-future-pakistans-el...

The convergence of rising energy prices and falling costs for Distributed Energy Resources (DER), such as rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) systems and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), have encouraged consumers to adopt decentralized energy solutions, reducing reliance on the grid and energy costs.

Pakistan imported an estimated 1.25 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of lithium-ion battery packs in 2024 and another 400 megawatt-hours (MWh) in the first two months of 2025, a trend that is likely to continue. As BESS adoption accelerates, it has the potential to reshape Pakistan’s energy landscape, driving the shift toward a more decentralized, consumer-centric system. While necessary, adding DERs to Pakistan’s conventional grid presents multiple challenges.

The country’s rapid adoption of solar PV systems has already started impacting centralized grid generation. As more consumers shift to net metering and self-generation, the overall electricity demand from the national grid has started declining. However, due to contractual obligations resulting from long-term power purchase agreements, the exit of paying consumers from the grid increases the financial burden on remaining users through higher fixed costs and capacity payments.

The impact of BESS adoption will depend on the pace of government investment in grid modernization and the development of advanced markets that enable decentralized battery storage to support the grid.

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What is the cost of Chinese lithium ion batteries per kWh in Pakistan
AI Overview
Lithium-Ion Battery Pack Prices See Largest Drop Since 2017 ...
The average cost of Chinese lithium-ion battery packs in Pakistan ranges from $230/kWh to $360/kWh. This cost is significantly higher than in China due to high customs duties and taxes levied in Pakistan.

Here's a more detailed breakdown:
High Costs:
Despite the continuous decline in battery prices worldwide, including China, the cost of lithium-ion batteries in Pakistan remains elevated due to import duties and taxes.
Battery Imports:
Pakistan's lithium-ion battery imports are projected to increase substantially in the coming years.
Payback Period:
Despite the high costs, solar-plus-battery systems in Pakistan are still attractive due to their relatively short payback periods, typically 3-5 years in residential sectors and 4-6 years in commercial and industrial sectors.
Impact of Taxes:
High taxes and duties on lithium-ion batteries can significantly increase their final cost, with estimates of a 48% cost increase in some cases.

Pakistan to Add Over 2,600 MW Through Solar Net Metering in FY2025–26

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2550583/solar-net-metering-to-add-over....

The number of net metering consumers is also expected to grow by 197,655, contributing to the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicator through increasing the share of renewable energy in total energy consumption and supporting grid stability.

At that point, the generation mix is projected to comprise approximately 50.5% from renewable sources (including hydel, solar, solar net metering, wind and bagasse) and 49.5% from thermal sources (such as coal, gas, re-gasified liquefied natural gas, oil and nuclear).

The power sector will receive a public investment of Rs161,635 million from the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) of FY26, including government-budgeted/self-finance projects of power companies, excluding independent power producers (IPPs).

The government plans to execute 63 projects.

These investments will contribute directly to the achievement of SDGs through distribution and transmission projects aimed at increasing access to electricity and through power generation projects by enhancing the share of renewable energy.

By the end of June 2026, the transmission sector will be boosted by an additional capacity of 5,550, 4,710 and 1,300 MVA on 500-kilovolt, 220kV and high-voltage, direct-current (HVDC) grids, respectively.

These transmission lines will be extended by 170 km (500kV), 355 km (220kV) and 137 km (±660kV). Additionally, one new grid station will be established at the 765kV level and two at the 220kV level.

To increase the proportion of population having access to electricity, the targeted investment in power distribution will lead to the electrification of 15,352 villages and the addition of 1.861 million new consumer connections during FY26.

These efforts will directly expand electricity access across urban and rural areas.


——————-+

Pakistan to Add Over 2,600 MW Through Solar Net Metering in FY2025–26

Pakistan is making a big leap in renewable energy. According to the Annual Plan 2025–26, 2,800 megawatts will be added to the grid next year, 2,633 MW of which will come from solar net metering.

This shift highlights growing public participation in clean energy production, despite an already surplus generation capacity.

Pakistan's solar surge lifts it into rarefied 25% club

https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/pakistans-solar-surge-l...

(Reuters) - Pakistan is rapidly emerging as a key leader in solar power deployment, and not just within emerging economies.
The South Asian country has boosted solar electricity generation by over three times the global average so far this year, fuelled by a more than fivefold rise in solar capacity imports since 2022, according to data from Ember.

That combination of rapidly rising capacity and generation has propelled solar power from Pakistan's fifth-largest electricity source in 2023 to its largest in 2025.

What's more, so far in 2025 solar power has accounted for 25% of Pakistan's utility-supplied electricity, which makes it one of fewer than 20 nations globally that have sourced a quarter or more of monthly electricity supplies from solar farms.
EXCLUSIVE CLUB
Over the first four months of 2025, solar farms generated an average of 25.3% of Pakistan's utility electricity supplies, Ember data shows.
That average compares with a solar share of 8% globally, around 11% in China, 8% in the United States and 7% in Europe.
And while the average solar shares in the Northern Hemisphere will climb steadily through the summer months, very few countries will even come close to securing a quarter of all utility electricity supplies from solar farms any time soon.

Indeed, only 17 countries have ever registered a 25% or more share of monthly utility electricity supplies from solar farms, according to Ember.

Those nations are: Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Chile, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Portugal and Spain.
That list is heavily skewed towards Europe, where the power sector shock from Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 sparked urgent and widespread power-sector reform and the rapid roll-out of renewable generation capacity.

ndeed, Australia and Chile are the only nations aside from Pakistan that are outside Europe, and all included nations boast a far higher gross domestic product (GDP) per capita than Pakistan.
IMPORT DRIVE
The chief driver of Pakistan's solar surge has been an accelerating import binge of solar capacity modules from China.

Between 2022 and 2024, Pakistan's imports of China-made solar components jumped fivefold from around 3,500 megawatts (MW) to a record 16,600 MW, according to Ember.

Pakistan's share of China's total solar module exports also rose sharply, from 2% in 2022 to nearly 7% in 2024.
And that import binge has continued into 2025.
Over the first four months of the year, Pakistan imported just over 10,000 MW of solar components from China, compared with around 8,500 MW during the same period in 2024.
That rise of nearly 18% in imported capacity has lifted Pakistan's share of China's solar exports to new highs too, with Pakistan accounting for around 12% of all of China's solar exports so far this year.
SOLAR-CENTRIC
The frantic deployment of imported solar modules across Pakistan in recent years has upended the country's electricity generation mix.
So far in 2025, solar is by far the single largest source of electricity, followed by natural gas, nuclear reactors, coal plants and hydro dams.

Pakistan's solar surge lifts it into rarefied 25% club

https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/pakistans-solar-surge-l...

As solar farms were the fifth-largest supply source for electricity just two years ago, solar's pre-eminence so far this marks a sharp swing towards renewables within the country's utility network.
In addition, the country is committed to much more growth in renewable energy generation capacity through the rest of this decade.
Pakistan is targeting 60% of electricity supplies to come from renewable sources by 2030, according to the International Trade Administration.
Through the first four months of 2025, renewable energy sources generated 28% of the country's electricity, so energy planners are aiming for a more than doubling in that share by the end of the decade.
With solar modules representing the quickest and cheapest means to meet those goals, further rapid build-out of the country's solar farm system looks likely, which will cement Pakistan's status as a global solar superpower.

US Congress just killed the solar tax credit—here’s what it means for homeowners

https://www.energysage.com/news/congress-passes-bill-ending-residen...

The "Big Beautiful Bill" passed the House and heads to Trump's desk, ending the 30% residential solar credit after 2025.

Congress just passed legislation to cut the 30% residential solar tax credit by December 31, 2025—nearly a decade ahead of schedule.

After marathon floor debates and record-breaking vote lengths, the "Big Beautiful Bill" cleared the House earlier today, just in time to meet President Trump’s arbitrary July 4 deadline. It now heads to his desk for final signature.

The credit was set to continue through 2034 under the Inflation Reduction Act. Instead, it disappears entirely on January 1, 2026, creating a compressed timeline that will cause significant market disruption.

For homeowners considering solar, the math is now simple: Act before the end of the year and save thousands, or wait and pay full price.

Homeowners have until December 31, 2025 to pay for or install solar panels and lock in the 30% federal tax credit—an average of $9,000 in savings.

The deadline particularly impacts working families who rely on the tax credit to make solar affordable as electricity prices continue to climb. A recent study from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory shows that solar benefits aren't limited to wealthy households—in fact, 44% of households that went solar in 2023 earned less than $100,000 annually, with most (30.5%) of them earning between $50,000 and $100,000.

Without the federal credit, solar becomes significantly less accessible to middle-class homeowners seeking true energy independence.

The abrupt year-end cut only affects the residential solar tax credit (Section 25D of the U.S. Tax Code). Commercial solar projects and third-party-owned residential systems, such as leases and power purchase agreements (PPAs), use a different tax credit (Section 48E), which remains available for systems placed in service before 2028.

Leases and PPAs face new restrictions
While companies offering leases and PPAs will continue to be able to claim the 30% tax credit, they still face restrictions. Projects beginning more than one year after the bill's enactment must be completed by December 31, 2027. And, to qualify for the tax credits, systems must include 40% domestic content in 2026 and 60% by 2030—which could influence project costs and availability.

Third-party financing provides homeowners with an alternative path to solar savings. These arrangements can reduce monthly electric bills with little to no upfront cost—but the tax benefits flow to solar companies rather than homeowners.

The key difference is ownership. With leases and PPAs, homeowners enter 20 to 25-year contracts where the solar company owns the system and the power it generates. While this eliminates maintenance responsibilities, it also means lower long-term savings compared to owning a system.

Rising electricity demand will increase costs for homeowners
By cutting the residential solar tax credit, Congress is eliminating the primary tool that helps families reduce their grid dependence, just as electricity demand surges and utility bills climb.

AI data centers are driving unprecedented electricity demand, with consumption expected to increase 130% by 2030. To meet this demand, utilities are expanding power generation and grid infrastructure—costs that get passed directly to homeowners through higher electric bills.

Rooftop solar can help defer or avoid large investments in infrastructure upgrades. It’s the fastest way to get more electricity to the grid. But, despite a growing number of these massive data centers coming online, Congress just ended the main incentive for this grid-stabilizing technology. Without distributed solar generation to help balance the load, the grid becomes more vulnerable to load-shedding requests, brownouts, and rolling blackouts.

Shift to solar comes at a price for Pakistan’s national grid

https://www.ft.com/content/91116c44-bacf-43f4-9b6f-63a6c738ef4e

Pakistani officials are desperate to slow a world-leading solar revolution, as a surge in cut-price Chinese panels and batteries bleeds the country’s finances and threatens the viability of its debt-ridden grid. The power ministry has proposed to reform the country’s “net metering” policy by reducing the amount paid to buy excess solar electricity from households from Rs27 to Rs10 ($0.035) per unit. In June, the government also proposed an 18 per cent tax on imported panels, later revised and passed at 10 per cent.

Shimmering Chinese panels, blocked from the US by tariffs, have spread across the roofs and backyards of factories, mosques, farms and wealthy neighbourhoods. Last year, the country of 240mn people imported 17GW worth of solar capacity, among the world’s highest, says renewable energy think-tank Ember. Solar units delivered at least a 10th of electricity needs and helped consumers offset power prices that have doubled in three years. The surge helped progress towards a target of 30 per cent of power from renewable sources by 2030, but the twin policies aim to stem what analysts have called a “death spiral”, as households who can afford solar switch off the grid, while more bills go unpaid by poorer customers who cannot afford the jump in power prices.

But traders and analysts expect demand for panels and batteries to stay high even if both measures pass. Avinash Kumar, a solar panel trader in the city of Sukkur, says the tax would barely dent demand as panel prices have fallen since last year. Fears of net metering reform are spurring customers to buy Chinese hybrid inverters, costing about Rs450,000 ($1,590), which feed energy back to the grid and store it in batteries, Kumar adds. “Sales are doubling every year.”

Shift to solar comes at a price for Pakistan’s national grid

https://www.ft.com/content/91116c44-bacf-43f4-9b6f-63a6c738ef4e

Demand for lithium-ion batteries is also surging, traders and importers say, in part because households are preparing to lose the payments from selling to the grid that they use to offset high charges during peak usage times in the evening, while industries also want to scale up renewables. Pakistan introduced net metering 10 years ago to help households defray the costs of installing solar — then 10 times higher — by letting them sell spare power to the grid. The move worked, but policymakers say a surge in installations — net metering capacity was 2,813MW as of March — from 300,000 consumers, mostly households, added a burden of Rs150bn ($529mn) on the other 40mn consumers last year from fixed and buyback costs. The impact could reach Rs4,400bn for the period 2025 to 2034 if current policy persists, officials say. At the same time, demand for grid power has fallen.

Since 2015, Pakistan has drawn in billions of dollars of sovereign-backed loans to build power plants, and signed long-term liquefied natural gas deals. This resolved blackouts but was costly, as economic growth has not kept up with demand projections. The result is a country owing $18bn in mounting power and gas sector debts to finance excess energy supply. According to Arzachel, a consultancy, two-thirds of a household electric bill comes from fixed costs, such as capacity charges even for idling plants. In March, the government proposed cutting the electricity buyback rate, reducing the licensing period for net metering contracts, and limiting consumers to installing only as much solar as is authorised by their electricity provider. The plan stalled after it was denounced as “cruel” by politicians, who said consumers and industries would be saddled with power costs of between Rs30 and Rs60 per unit, among the highest in south Asia.

Power minister Awais Leghari says a change is a “necessity” as the “wealthiest households in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad . . . avoid fixed costs while their share is covered by the most vulnerable”.

Power minister Awais Leghari says poorer customers are subsidising those who can afford solar “Why should we buy power at a price that is Rs17 more expensive than the national energy pool price I buy from other generators?” Leghari says. He adds that reforms would raise payback periods to four or five years, from two to three currently, which “remains a fair incentive”.

Haneea Isaad of Islamabad-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis says there was nearly a nationwide blackout during Eid in March, as solar power surged and the grid could not absorb frequency changes as some backup generators and plants were switched off due to low demand in the holiday. “Technical problems are . . . a ticking time bomb,” she says, and the switch to solar means companies are losing revenues to invest. The government says imported panels harm prospects of a local industry and it hopes to recoup some of the import bill. Analysts say the proposed levy is aimed at slowing solar adoption. To boost grid use, enabling investment to improve the service, Pakistan is banking on cryptocurrency mining, AI data centres, power cost reductions, levies on industries using captive natural gas plants, and electric vehicles.

Saadia Qayyum, an energy consultant at Canada-based Hatch, says “the government appears to be relying on short-term policy adjustments that risk slowing down solar adoption” among the poorest. “Many consumers are turning to solar because grid electricity is expensive and unreliable — in some areas, supply is limited to just 8 hours a day,” she says. “Policy shifts that make it harder to access or afford solar risk removing that essential lifeline.”

Pakistan has quickly become one of the world's biggest markets for solar energy. This solar boom has been driven in large part by consumers who are fed up with sky-high electricity costs.

https://www.npr.org/2025/07/08/nx-s1-5448805/pakistan-becoming-one-...

Pakistan plans large battery storage to ‘stabilise grid’ - Business -


https://www.dawn.com/news/1959871

Move aims to manage renewable intermittency, reduce frequency fluctuations, minister says
• Clean energy share rises to 46pc, surpassing 2025 capacity target

ISLAMABAD: The government is wor­king on large, utility-scale Battery Ene­rgy Storage Systems (BESS) to ensure stability of the national grid, which is currently facing challenges such as frequency fluctuations caused by the induction of intermittent renewable energy sources faster than planned targets.

“The government … is pursuing the development of large-scale battery energy storage systems through private-sector investments to address the intermittency of variable renewable energy, optimise grid demand management, and enhance overall system stability,” Power Minister Sardar Awais Leghari told the National Assembly in a written statement on Friday.

In response to a series of questions from various MNAs, the minister also confir­med that the government was gradually moving away from Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as part of its policy to reduce reliance on imported fuels amid higher capacity contracts, increasing induction of indi­genous renewables, and stagnant demand.



Clean energy share

The minister said the clean energy share in the country had reached 46 per cent by September 2025 against the government’s 40pc capacity target for 2025.

He added that the government had set ambitious targets under its various power policies to increase the share of on-grid renewable energy capacity to 40pc by 2025 and 60pc by 2030.

Currently, 60 private-sector renewable energy projects with a cumulative capacity of 4,753MW are operational, including 680MW of solar, 1,937MW of run-of-river hydropower, 1,845MW of wind, and 291MW of bagasse cogeneration.

Alongside 9,619MW of public-sector hydropower and 100MW of solar in K-Electric’s system, renewables account for more than 37pc of the generation mix.

“Net-metering-based solar photovoltaic [PV] has further added 6,390MW as of September 2025, raising the clean energy share to approximately 46pc, thereby surpassing the government’s 40pc renewable energy capacity target for 2025,” the minister said.

In parallel, the minister said the government had finalised an initial quantum of 800MW for the Competitive Trading Bilateral Contract Market framework to provide market access to renewable ene­rgy producers and enable large consumers to enter into direct supply contracts with producers of their choice, subject to a wheeling charge of about Rs13 per unit.

Mr Leghari emphasised that the availability of reliable, efficient, eco-friendly, and affordable electricity was crucial for sustainable economic growth. “There­fore, the government is prioritising the effective use of renewable and indigenous energy sources through its national policies aimed at diversifying the energy mix by promoting clean and renewable sources such as wind, solar, hydropower, and bagasse,” he added.

LNG reliance

Discussing LNG diversion, the minister reported that dependence on imported fuel plants had comparatively reduced in recent years, and priority was being given to the utilisation of local energy resources, including Thar coal, solar, wind, bagasse, and hydropower, to minimise reliance on imported fuels.

He conceded that dependence on imported LNG had comparatively dec­reased in recent years. “This policy shift is primarily aimed at promoting ind­igenous and renewable energy resources and ensuring least-cost dispatch in the overall generation mix,” he added.

He continued that the government was actively promoting the adoption of solar energy technology at the consumer level across residential, commercial, and industrial sectors.
.

Pakistan unveils new net metering rules for rooftop PV – pv magazine International

Pakistan’s National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has initiated a public consultation on proposed revisions to solar net-metering regulations. A key change under consideration is a reduction in the tariff for surplus solar power, which could be cut by half from PKR 26 ($0.093) per kWh to PKR 13 per kWh.

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2025/12/18/pakistan-unveils-new-net-met...

Pakistan’s NEPRA has launched a public consultation on new rules it intends to apply to PV systems up to 1 MW operating under the country's net metering regime.

The Prosumer Regulations 2025 are intended to replace the Net Metering Regulations issued in 2015.

Under the new rules, the sale of surplus power to the grid will be made through a new net billing arrangement, with PV system owners being credited based on a nationally determined average energy purchase price rather than full one-to-one net credits.

Furthermore, surplus power will be purchased by the utility at Pakistan’s national average energy purchase price, which will likely be lower than current incentive rates. According to local media outlet Daily Times, the tariff may drop from around PKR 26 ($0.093) per kWh to PKR 13 per kWh.

Moreover, the standard net metering agreement term should be reduced from 7 years to 5 years, with extensions being possible by mutual consent of prosumers and utilities. The existing agreements under the 2015 regulations will continue until their terms expire. Afterward, new terms under the 2025 rules would apply.

The proposed changes, if implemented, will mean the country will transition from a pure net-metering mechanism toward a net billing approach, which NEPRA says will balance renewable adoption with utility sustainability and grid reliability.

Distributed solar under net metering, on the other hand, has seen a vertiginous development in Pakistan over the past two years.

The country installed 1.2 GW of net-metering capacity across the first six months of 2025, according to figures from the Islamabad-based think tank Renewables First.

Cumulative net-metering capacity increased from 4.9 GW at the end of last year to 6.1 GW by the end of June. The growth rate is slower than that recorded during the second half of 2024, when 2.5 GW of net-metering capacity was added.

Rabia Babar, manager data for energy and climate at Renewables First, told pv magazine that while H1 2025 saw a surge in net-metering applications, the pace of issuance slowed. “As of June, over 4,000 new net metering connections were pending with various utilities, with regulatory bottlenecks contributing to a growing backlog,” Babar explained.