Islamabad: Pakistan’s solar energy capacity has grown remarkably in a short space of time.
The massive solar buildout is contributing to the country’s green transition efforts.
According to a Bloomberg report, solar imports from China so far this year have already outstripped imports across all of last year.
Panels purchased in 2024 amount to 17 gigawatts of capacity, enough to raise Pakistan’s total power capacity by a third.
What’s driving the transition?
Aligning power subsidies with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) conditions, Pakistan in recent years has jacked up power tariffs, forcing domestic and commercial consumers to shift to alternative options.
Since removing solar import curbs, Pakistan has become the third-largest buyer of Chinese panels.
‘Pitfalls’ of the boom
Although seen as an encouraging trend, the massive surge in the country’s solar capacity may cost power utilities dearly, according to government officials and experts.
“It’s the price of electricity that’s kicking people out of the grid,” Energy Minister Awais Leghari said recently.
Commenting on the trend, he said, “I don’t blame them, we need to improve ourselves”.
Utilities stand to lose critical revenue as customers increasingly generate their own power, and Pakistanis who cannot afford solar panels may be left to pay even higher utility bills.
Electricity costs
A Bloomberg report this year revealed that electricity bills in Pakistan have exceeded the cost of household rent, considering that electricity prices surged by 155 per cent since 2021.
“The South Asian nation — where nearly half the population survives on less than $4 a day — has seen electricity prices surge 155 per cent since 2021 after the government started hiking industrial and retail rates to bolster its chances of securing loans from the International Monetary Fund”.
