Key Takeaways
- Pakistan no longer faces a generation shortage but requires battery storage.
- The minister emphasizes the need for grid flexibility to manage midday solar energy.
- Renewables now account for 55% of Pakistan’s electricity mix.
Federal Minister for Energy (Power Division), Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari, has announced that Pakistan no longer faces an electricity generation shortage. However, the country must invest in battery storage and grid flexibility to manage surplus solar power and meet rising evening demand.
Speaking at the Solar Storage Flexibility 2026 (SSF26) Conference in Islamabad, Leghari stated, 'Pakistan does not have a generation problem anymore… What we have is a flexibility problem. The inability to move abundant midday solar energy into the evening peak.'
He highlighted that Pakistan's ongoing conflict with Iran and the United States has underscored how external events can impact energy markets, particularly for countries like Pakistan which import much of their fuel.
During April, when RLNG supplies from Qatar were disrupted, Pakistan experienced load shedding at night but had adequate power during the day due to solarisation. Leghari explained that battery storage is crucial in insulating the economy from volatile global markets and turning ambitious targets into practical plans.
The minister noted that renewables now account for 55% of Pakistan’s electricity mix and set a target of achieving 90% clean energy by 2035 under this government. He said, 'Battery storage allows the grid operators the necessary flexibility to integrate a high share of renewables through the various use cases it offers.'
To boost battery manufacturing in Pakistan, Leghari stated that the Ministry of Industries is formulating a local manufacturing policy which will soon be finalised and incentivise local production. He added, 'We have established a National Steering Committee on Battery Energy Storage Systems, bringing together regulators, transmission and distribution companies, and technical experts to give the sector coordinated national direction.'
The minister emphasized that storage converts an ambitious target into ‘an operable, bankable and very deliverable plan’. Without storage, he warned, 'our solar success risks becoming a curtailment problem. With storage it becomes a national asset.'
'Pakistan does not have a generation problem anymore… What we have is a flexibility problem. The inability to move abundant midday solar energy into the evening peak.'
Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari, Federal Minister for Energy (Power Division)
'Battery storage allows the grid operators the necessary flexibility to integrate a high share of renewables through the various use cases it offers.'
Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari, Federal Minister for Energy (Power Division)
