Pakistan's Solar Growth Accelerates in High-Load-Shedding Regions

Net-metering expansion in Pakistan's six largest utilities shows solar increasingly powering households despite grid instability.

Pakistan's net-metering capacity reached 6.1 gigawatts across 378,339 consumers by June 2025, with 85% concentrated in six distribution companies. Five of these utilities reported near-zero load shedding and bill recovery above 100% during fiscal year 2024-25. Karachi's K-Electric, the sixth utility, experienced 5.2 hours of daily load shedding in the same period. Solar generation surged from 2.6 terawatt-hours in 2019 to 36.6 terawatt-hours in 2025, supplying 12.1 terawatt-hours—32.3% of national output—in Q1 2026. The national electricity tariff rose 110% from 2022 to 2025, while agricultural grid consumption fell 31% year over year.

This growth occurs despite high transmission losses (37.2–39.2%) in key utilities. The expansion correlates with reduced grid dependency in regions where outages are frequent, as solar now provides reliable power where grid stability is low. For households in the six largest utilities, solar has become a critical alternative to frequent outages, lowering energy costs where grid prices have risen sharply.

The shift toward solar in high-load-shedding areas improves energy access for vulnerable populations. As NEPRA implemented a new net billing policy in February 2026, solar's role in reducing grid reliance could expand further. However, the 14% figure for worst-served utilities is an estimate, and the gap between 54 gigawatts of solar module imports and 6.1 gigawatts of registered capacity suggests significant hidden potential. The source does not specify geographic distribution of solar output, so claims about 'outage-prone areas' cannot be made.

Source: pv magazine