Amid the forty-degree heat that paralysed the coastal city of Karachi in April, Saad Saleem blasted his air-conditioning with near-abandon.
While Pakistan’s solar revolution is transforming energy access, it is leaving behind urban middle-class families who cannot afford or install solar panels.
Amid Karachi’s scorching 40-degree April heat, affluent entrepreneur Saad Saleem kept his air-conditioning running nonstop. Although electricity tariffs have soared, he remained unaffected. Two years ago, he invested $7,500 in rooftop solar panels for his bungalow—joining Pakistan’s rapidly growing solar revolution.
Saleem made the investment when Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were negotiating a bailout. As part of the deal, power and gas tariffs were significantly increased to aid struggling energy suppliers. Consequently, electricity prices surged over 25% on average, leading to a nationwide rush to install solar panels.
Pakistan’s Solar Power Growth
Solar energy contributed over 14% to Pakistan’s power supply in 2023, up from just 4% in 2021. This made solar the third-largest energy source, surpassing coal, according to U.K.-based think tank Ember. Pakistan’s adoption rate nearly doubles China’s, despite China being the top global exporter of solar panels.
Yet, this solar transition hasn’t benefitted everyone equally. Many middle-class urban residents, struggling with rising bills, remain excluded. Interviews with energy experts and consumers reveal that most solar installations are not grid-connected, limiting the widespread benefits of affordable energy.
Energy Gap and Rising Costs
The move by wealthier Pakistanis to solar power has financially strained electricity providers. As high-usage customers abandon the grid, providers increase prices on the remaining pool of consumers to offset losses. Arzachel, an energy consultancy in Karachi, highlights this growing cost burden on conventional users.
Compounding the issue are deals with China involving billions in coal-powered energy projects. With many repayments pending, Pakistan is negotiating extensions with China, further complicating its energy landscape.
Middle Class Left in the Dark
Just miles from Saleem’s home, middle-class homemaker Nadia Khan is living a contrasting reality. She avoids air-conditioning and even skips ironing clothes to reduce her electricity usage. Like many apartment dwellers, she lacks the space or means to install solar panels.
In 2024, only 1% of paying consumers used more than 400 units of electricity, down from 10% pre-pandemic, as reported by Renewables First. Most apartment rooftops are reserved for water tanks or utilities, and landlords rarely invest in solar for tenants. “We get some sunlight indoors, but there’s no way to go solar,” said Khan. “Why must apartment dwellers suffer?”
Meanwhile, land-owning Pakistanis are capitalizing on affordable Chinese solar imports. China exported 16.6 gigawatts of solar capacity to Pakistan in 2023—five times more than in 2022. During this period, the cost per watt dropped by 54%, making solar even more attractive.
Limited Grid Integration
Despite this growth, less than 10% of solar users feed surplus energy back into the grid. The reason? High setup costs and lengthy approval processes. “Connecting solar panels to the grid takes 3 to 9 months,” explained Ahtasam Ahmad from Renewables First.
Additionally, grid integration requires expensive equipment like inverters, costing $1,400 to $1,800—nearly half of an average Pakistani household’s annual income.
Industrial Gains, Consumer Burden
Large businesses are also benefiting. Interloop, a conglomerate in Punjab, has installed solar panels next to cow sheds to power cooling systems for 9,300 livestock. According to their energy manager Faizan Ul Haq, the investment breaks even in 3–4 years and reduces power costs by about 75%.
However, these savings mean even greater losses for energy suppliers. Fixed operating costs—like fuel contracts and grid upgrades—remained unchanged. In 2023–24 alone, 200 billion rupees in fixed costs were passed on to non-solar users, leading them to pay 6.3% more per kilowatt-hour.
The Policy Challenge
“Pakistan’s solar revolution is impressive, but it highlights a deeper inequality,” said Haneea Isaad from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. “Policy needs to evolve alongside technology.”
Power Minister Awais Leghari acknowledged the disparity but cited a tariff reduction in June 2024 following IMF’s approval. He also noted the rise in rural solar usage, especially among off-grid communities. “Pakistan has undergone a solar revolution,” he said. “Our grid is cleaner than ever, and that’s a national achievement.”
Nonetheless, as solar panel imports rise and grid demand drops, remaining customers may continue to face growing energy costs unless structural reforms are implemented quickly.
“Pakistan’s experience demonstrates a crucial lesson: when governments fail to adapt quickly enough, people take charge,” Ahmad from Renewables First concluded.
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