Comment by Riaz Haq on August 18, 2026 at 1:01pm

Power generation costs in Pakistan surged by 38% in July from a year earlier as the country paid the highest spot LNG prices in four years amid the supply disruption from the Middle East.

https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Pakistans-Power-...


The costs to generate electricity last month soared due to the higher power output in July and the higher price of spot LNG which Pakistan was forced to procure in the absence of regular shipments from its long-standing term supplier Qatar.

The high cost of power generation “is driven by a higher RLNG and furnace oil mix, including reliance on spot RLNG cargoes, while elevated oil prices further increased generation costs,” local brokerage and research firm Arif Habib Limited was quoted as saying in an analysis on Tuesday.

Total electricity generation also rose in July to further push up costs. Power output increased by 7% in July from a year, to hit the “second-highest for any July month, amid the highest-ever hydel [hydroelectric], local coal and imported coal generation,” Arif Habib Limited (AHL) said in its note.

This summer, Pakistan has been paying top dollar for LNG supply as the renewed closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the stranding of cargoes from its term supplier Qatar have forced the South Asian country to seek liquefied natural gas on the spot market.

Pakistan has issued several tenders for July and August delivery and is apparently willing to pay up to secure supply.

In the middle of July, state-controlled importer Pakistan LNG Limited accepted an offer from TotalEnergies Gas & Power Limited for a spot cargo for delivery on July 27-28, at a price of as much as $21.88 per million British thermal units (MMBtu)—the highest Pakistan has paid for an LNG cargo since the Iran war began in February and upended global LNG flows.

The last time Pakistan has paid such sums for an LNG cargo was in 2022, when spot prices in Asia spiked to record highs after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the slashed pipeline gas supply from Russia to Europe.

Comment by Riaz Haq on August 18, 2026 at 1:06pm

Pakistan's hydroelectric (hydel) output hit a record high of 6,019 GWh in July 2026, increasing 6% year-on-year and helping drive a 7% overall rise in national power generation. This surge in hydropower effectively helped offset expensive thermal and constrained LNG supplies during peak summer demand.To see how major infrastructure projects are expanding Pakistan's long-term clean energy capacity, watch this overview:

Key Highlights of Pakistan's Hydel OutputJuly 2026 Record: Hydropower production reached 6,019 gigawatt-hours, accounting for roughly 39.8% of the country's entire electricity generation mix.Seasonal Rebound: Increased water reservoir releases and seasonal availability enabled generation to rebound significantly from earlier spring slumps.Grid Stability: The high output mitigated severe power shortfalls and reduced immediate reliance on costly spot-market imported fossil fuels.

Comment by Riaz Haq on August 21, 2026 at 5:48pm

Din Textile solar capacity hits 12.6MW after expansion - Profit by Pakistan Today

https://profit.pakistantoday.com.pk/2026/08/21/din-textile-mills-so...

Din Textile Mills Limited has started its planned solar expansion, increasing total operational solar capacity to 12.6MW, according to a PSX notice. The company says it

Din Textile Mills Limited (DINT) has brought its planned solar expansion into operation, lifting the company’s total operational solar capacity to 12.6 megawatts (MW).

The development was disclosed by the company in a notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday.

According to the notice, the expanded solar capacity is expected to support DINT’s focus on sustainability and energy efficiency.

“With the completion of this expansion, the Company’s total operational solar capacity now stands at 12.6 MW,” the company said in its notice.

The move adds to DINT’s renewable energy infrastructure as the company continues to incorporate solar power into its operations.

Established in Pakistan in 1988, Din Textile Mills Limited is engaged in the manufacturing and sale of yarn and fabric.

Comment by Riaz Haq on August 21, 2026 at 8:43pm

Pakistan says power challenge has shifted from generation to energy storage

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2653325/pakistan

Minister says rapid rooftop solar expansion has left country with surplus electricity during daytime
Government preparing battery storage, local manufacturing policies to balance increasingly renewable grid


ISLAMABAD: Pakistan no longer faces a shortage of electricity generation but must now invest in energy storage and a more flexible power grid to manage the rapid growth of rooftop solar, Power Minister Awais Leghari said on Tuesday, describing the country’s energy transition as one driven largely by consumers rather than government policy.

Pakistan has witnessed a sharp rise in rooftop solar installations in recent years as households, farmers and businesses turned to cheaper renewable energy to offset high electricity prices and frequent increases in utility tariffs. While the shift has reduced daytime demand on the national grid, it has also created new operational challenges because electricity demand remains high after sunset, when solar generation falls sharply.


The government says battery storage and grid modernization will now be critical to integrating renewable energy into Pakistan’s electricity system while reducing dependence on imported fossil fuels, which have left the country vulnerable to global energy price shocks and supply disruptions.

“Pakistan does not have a generation problem anymore. In many hours of the day, we have a surplus. What we have is a flexibility problem,” Leghari said while addressing an international conference on battery energy storage systems.

“The inability to move abundant midday solar energy into the evening peak.”

The minister said Pakistan already generated about 55 percent of its electricity from what he described as clean energy sources, including hydropower, nuclear, wind and solar power.

“Our target under this government is to take this figure to 90 percent clean energy by 2035,” he said.

Leghari said battery storage would play a central role in achieving that target by allowing excess solar electricity generated during the day to be used during evening peak demand.

“When we talk of battery energy storage systems today, we are not simply talking about a grid balancing technology. We are talking about insulating Pakistan’s economy from a volatile world,” he said.

Referring to recent tensions in the Middle East, Leghari said volatility in international energy markets had reinforced the need for Pakistan to reduce its dependence on imported fuels.

“Every unit of electricity that we generate from an indigenous source is a unit that no foreign conflict, no shipping lane or no currency shock can take away from us,” he said.

The minister also announced that the government was preparing a local battery manufacturing policy aimed at encouraging domestic production rather than relying on imported battery systems.

“The Ministry of Industries is in the process of formulating the battery local manufacturing policy which will soon be finalized and will incentivize the local production,” he said.

Leghari said the government had established a national steering committee on battery energy storage systems, supported by technical and regulatory working groups developing commercial frameworks, pilot projects and national standards to encourage investment in the sector.

He said Pakistan wanted local companies to move beyond importing battery technology and instead assemble battery packs, develop battery management software, manufacture components and build domestic engineering expertise to support the country’s long-term energy transition.

Comment by Riaz Haq 5 hours ago

The US battery storage market just posted its biggest quarter ever, adding 20.2 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of new capacity in Q2 2026.


https://electrek.co/2026/08/31/the-us-added-a-record-20-2-gwh-of-ba...

The record quarter brought total battery storage installations for the first half of 2026 to 30.8 GWh – up 23% year over year – according to the new “US Energy Storage Market Outlook” from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.
Utility-scale batteries drove the record
Nearly all the growth came from large grid batteries. Utility-scale projects accounted for about 18 GWh of Q2 installations, supported by seven gigawatt-hour-scale projects – four in Arizona, two in California, and one in Utah.
Arizona alone added a record 6.2 GWh, the strongest quarter ever recorded by a single state. Texas added 3.8 GWh, and California installed another 3.6 GWh. Of the utility-scale capacity installed during the quarter, 44% was paired with solar, while 56% was standalone storage.


That matters because batteries can charge when electricity is abundant and relatively cheap, then send it back to the grid when demand and prices rise. During extreme heat, that stored electricity can help cover the evening hours when solar output drops but air-conditioning demand remains high.
Battery storage supplied more electricity to the US grid during the first eight months of 2026 than it did during all of 2025, according to the report.
“This record growth highlights that storage is a powerful reliability tool that strengthens our energy security, meets rising demand, and puts downward pressure on electricity bills,” said Tim Pawlenty, president and CEO of SEIA.
Storage growth spreads beyond California and Texas
More than 74% of US battery storage capacity installed in Q2 2026 was in states that Donald Trump won in the 2024 presidential election, with Arizona, Texas, and Utah leading.
SEIA also notes that US utility-scale battery capacity grew from 88 GWh to 165 GWh during the first 18 months of the Trump administration. Those figures show when and where the capacity entered service, but the report doesn’t attribute individual project investment decisions to a particular administration.
“Energy storage is no longer just a California and Texas story anymore,” said Shan Tomouk, BESS & Energy Lead at Benchmark Minerals. “We’re seeing strong pipeline growth in Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Colorado, and several other states.”
Demand is running ahead of previous expectations, so Benchmark raised its storage forecast through 2030 by 11.5%, to 683 GWh. More than 10% of all US battery storage capacity now operating came online in Q2 alone.
Home batteries have a rough quarter
Residential battery storage saw a much weaker quarter. US homes added 657 megawatt-hours (MWh) of batteries in Q2, down 27% year over year.
The report attributes the decline partly to the removal of the federal 25D residential clean energy tax credit and partly to homeowners rushing installations into 2025 ahead of the incentive change.

Benchmark still sees a long-term case for home batteries as electricity costs rise, net-metering rules change, power outages remain a concern, and utilities expand virtual power plant and demand-response programs. But it forecasts residential installations falling 16% in 2026 after jumping 56% in 2025.
Commercial and industrial storage added approximately 1.8 GWh during Q2. Benchmark expects data centers to be a major source of future demand as developers combine batteries with onsite solar, wind, and, in some cases, natural gas generation to work around grid constraints and manage fast-changing power loads.
US battery manufacturing also expanded during the quarter. Tesla brought its third Megafactory online in Texas, with the capacity to produce 50 GWh of Megapacks annually, and began shipping Megapacks containing domestically manufactured lithium iron phosphate cells.

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