Pakistan no longer faces a shortage of electricity generation and is instead confronting a growing need for grid flexibility and energy storage, Federal Minister for Energy Power Division Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari said while addressing the Solar Storage Flexibility 2026 Conference in Islamabad. The minister said the country now has sufficient generation capacity but needs to develop the infrastructure and technologies required to shift surplus electricity generated during the day into periods of higher evening demand. According to Leghari, the rapid expansion of solar power has changed the nature of Pakistan’s electricity challenge, making battery storage increasingly important for maintaining a reliable and efficient power system.
Speaking at the conference, Leghari said Pakistan’s main issue was no longer the availability of generation but the ability of the electricity system to manage changing patterns of supply and demand. He pointed to the large amount of solar electricity available during daylight hours and the difficulty of moving that energy into the evening peak, when demand rises after solar generation begins to decline. The minister described this as a flexibility challenge that requires investment in battery energy storage systems and improvements to the country’s electricity grid. He said storage would allow Pakistan to make better use of its growing renewable generation rather than allowing excess solar electricity to be curtailed.
Leghari also linked Pakistan’s energy security requirements to developments in international fuel markets. He said the ongoing conflict between Iran and the United States had highlighted how external events can affect global energy markets through oil price volatility, shipping risks around the Strait of Hormuz and uncertainty surrounding fuel supplies. For Pakistan, which continues to import much of the fuel used by a significant portion of its thermal power fleet, such external disruptions can place pressure on fiscal stability and household energy costs. The minister argued that increasing domestic renewable generation and developing storage capacity could help reduce the economy’s exposure to international fuel market volatility.
The minister referred to disruptions in liquefied natural gas supplies from Qatar during April as an example of the challenges faced by Pakistan’s power system. According to Leghari, the interruption in liquefied natural gas supplies resulted in load shedding during nighttime hours, while the country had adequate electricity availability during the daytime because of increased solarisation. The experience demonstrated the changing nature of Pakistan’s electricity requirements, with the country able to benefit from abundant daytime solar generation but facing supply and flexibility constraints when demand rises in the evening. Leghari said battery energy storage should therefore be viewed not simply as a grid balancing technology but as a mechanism for reducing the economy’s exposure to disruptions in international energy markets.
Pakistan’s renewable energy share has already reached 55 percent of the country’s electricity mix, according to the minister. The government has set a target of increasing the share of clean energy to 90 percent by 2035. Leghari said achieving this objective would require more than simply adding renewable generation capacity, as the electricity system must also be capable of absorbing and dispatching variable renewable power when it is needed. Battery storage, he said, can help turn the clean energy target into a practical and commercially viable plan by providing the flexibility necessary to integrate higher levels of renewable generation.
The minister explained that battery storage can provide grid operators with greater flexibility through multiple applications, allowing electricity generated from renewable sources to be stored and made available when demand increases. Without adequate storage, the rapid growth of solar power could result in increasing levels of curtailed generation when production exceeds immediate demand or the grid’s ability to absorb electricity. With sufficient storage capacity, the same surplus generation could instead become a usable national energy resource, improving the overall utilisation of renewable power assets.
The government is also looking beyond the deployment of imported battery systems and wants to establish domestic capabilities for battery pack assembly and manufacturing. Leghari said Pakistan should move towards local production rather than relying solely on imported equipment. To support this objective, the Ministry of Industries is developing a policy aimed at determining the appropriate framework for local battery manufacturing. The policy is expected to be finalized soon and will include incentives intended to encourage domestic production.
The government has also established a National Steering Committee on Battery Energy Storage Systems to provide coordinated direction for the emerging storage sector. According to Leghari, the committee brings together regulators, transmission and distribution companies and technical experts. Its role is expected to include coordination between key stakeholders as Pakistan develops policies and systems for integrating battery storage into the electricity network.
The development of a domestic battery storage industry could also create opportunities beyond electricity generation and grid management. Local assembly and manufacturing could support new industrial activity while creating technical employment and developing expertise in energy storage technologies. At the same time, greater domestic production could eventually reduce dependence on imported battery equipment as storage becomes a more important part of Pakistan’s energy infrastructure.
The government’s approach therefore represents a shift in the country’s energy priorities. Instead of focusing primarily on adding generation capacity to address an electricity shortage, policymakers are increasingly concentrating on how existing and new renewable generation can be integrated efficiently into the grid. With renewables already accounting for 55 percent of the electricity mix and a 90 percent clean energy target set for 2035, battery storage and grid flexibility are expected to become increasingly important components of Pakistan’s power sector strategy.
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