ISLAMABAD:
Moribund solar net metering has rescued Pakistan from daytime load shedding at a time when the country is going through its worst energy crisis.
Meanwhile, authorities have increased oil-based power generation from furnaces to full capacity and delayed scheduled maintenance at nuclear plants in an effort to sustain electricity supplies amid a deepening shortage of LNG.
Disruptions to liquefied natural gas flows, linked to regional instability following the Iran war, have affected the country’s energy mix, forcing it to rely on more expensive thermal options.
At the same time, reduced reservoir discharges have reduced hydroelectric production, further restricting supply.
The increasing penetration of solar energy has alleviated daytime demand, but has shifted the load to nighttime hours, intensifying shortages after sunset.
Energy Minister Awais Khan Leghari on Thursday attributed the prolonged outages to the reduction in LNG and Hydel electricity generation due to the recent war between Iran and the United States, which paralyzed oil and LNG supplies following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
“For every 500 to 600 megawatts missing, about one hour of load management is required,” he said, adding that the current shortfall has required six to seven hours of load shedding.
This means that solar net metering has saved four hours of load shedding in the country. Currently, the country has installed solar net metering capacity of up to 8,000 MW.
Leghari clarified that no load shedding was being carried out during the day as demand remained lower and generation was sufficient, while load management was mainly implemented during night peak hours.
He said the government had ensured fair distribution of load shedding across urban and rural areas and had recently extended the cuts to industrial sectors as well after domestic consumers began facing longer outages.
He also apologized to the masses who were facing prolonged power outages. “If the public faces any inconvenience due to lack of electricity at night and during peak hours, I respond directly,” he said, adding, “We apologize, but the circumstances are beyond our control.”
LNG facilities in Qatar were affected during the Iran-Israel war, resulting in the suspension of LNG supplies to Pakistan.
The Energy Minister stated that there were no load shedding during the day. However, it skipped informing the nation that solar net metering owners had saved the country from daytime load shedding by injecting more than 2,000 MW of electricity.
The Minister of Energy is one of the architects of the introduction of the solar net metering policy, which had shelved future solar net metering plans.
In a press conference, Leghari said the country is facing a shortfall of 3,400MW, forcing power distribution companies to manage load shedding during peak hours.
Due to solar net metering, the peak hour has shifted to night, when the country has witnessed a peak demand of 20,000 MW of electricity.
However, those plants too had disappeared during the entire saga and were receiving between Rs 1.2 and Rs 2 trillion in capacity payments annually.
“The new solar net metering policy was not introduced to save consumers, but was intended to generate money to pay capacity payments for those power plants that were closed and received a lot of money,” experts say.
“A significant decline in Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and Hydel based power generation amid the prevailing situation in the Gulf region, electricity demand in April witnessed sharp fluctuations, ranging from around 9,000 megawatts to 20,000 megawatts on April 15, which reflected a rapid increase in a short period,” the minister said, adding that in April 2025, around 3,200 MW of electricity from hydel. sources and 3,000MW of LNG. Generation based on furnace oil had been minimal due to its high cost.
However, it said gas supplies to most LNG-based power plants had been suspended. “Of a total LNG-based generation capacity of around 6,000 megawatts, only around 500 megawatts are currently being produced, also using alternative fuel,” he said, adding that Hydel generation had also declined to around 1,600 MW in April.
He stated that this had further widened the gap between supply and demand. The decline was due to lower water releases from major reservoirs like Tarbela and Mangla.
The provinces were demanding less water amid prevailing weather conditions and ongoing crop harvesting. He added that the water cannot be released solely for electricity generation as it is reserved primarily for agricultural needs.
He maintained that furnace oil-based plants were operating at full capacity; however, the system still faced a shortfall of approximately 3,400MW.
Leghari added that some southern regions, including areas served by HESCO and K-Electric, were not facing additional load shedding due to relatively better power availability.
It claimed to have reduced costs over the past few years, resulting in a 3.8% increase in demand.
He also maintained that the government was following prudent use of electricity, particularly during peak hours.
Hydropower generation was around 3,200 MW in April 2025, a figure that has reduced to around 1,671 MW this year due to reduced water emissions from Mangla and Tarbela.
The minister said no load shedding was or would be done during daytime off-peak hours.
“When the demand exceeds 16,500 MW, power is required from gas-based plants. In the absence of gas, the country has limited options to meet the demand,” he said.
Responding to comments about the country’s installed capacity of 46,000MW, he said it did not translate into available generation under current fuel constraints.
“There is installed capacity, so there were no load cuts before April,” he stated.
