Pakistan’s rapid adoption of distributed solar power has transformed the country’s energy landscape, increasing electricity demand by 21% in just two years and raising its electrification rate to nearly the global average, according to a new report jointly published by Ember and Renewables First.
The report, titled “The Solarisation of Pakistan’s Energy Economy,” highlights how distributed solar generation has reshaped the country’s energy system, challenging conventional energy statistics that largely overlook behind-the-meter solar installations. The study rebases Pakistan’s electricity data to account for the country’s unprecedented distributed solar expansion, offering a more comprehensive picture of the nation’s energy transition.
According to the report, Pakistan’s total electricity demand increased by 33 terawatt-hours (TWh) between fiscal years 2023 and 2025. Distributed solar generation alone grew by 36 TWh during the same period, making it the primary driver of electricity demand growth and offsetting declines elsewhere in the power system.
As a result, Pakistan’s electrification rate—the share of final energy demand met through electricity—rose to 21.7% in FY2025, approaching the current global average of 22.0%. While electricity demand expanded significantly, non-electric energy consumption increased by only 2%, indicating that distributed solar not only supported electricity demand growth but also met the majority of the country’s overall energy demand increase.
The report notes that distributed solar has accelerated electrification across multiple sectors of Pakistan’s economy. In agriculture, solar-powered irrigation has increasingly replaced diesel pumps and conventional grid electricity, lowering operating costs and enabling farmers to increase water pumping capacity. Industrial users have turned to distributed solar as captive gas and coal generation has declined, helping businesses reduce energy costs and improve competitiveness.
In the residential sector, rooftop solar has helped households overcome the impacts of high electricity tariffs and prolonged load shedding, encouraging greater adoption of electrical appliances, particularly cooling equipment. Commercial establishments have also expanded electricity consumption through solar installations while limiting exposure to rising grid electricity tariffs. The report identifies the transportation sector as the next major opportunity for electrification, as it has so far seen limited adoption of electric technologies.
Commenting on the findings, Dave Jones, Chief Analyst at Ember, said Pakistan’s experience demonstrates how rapidly distributed solar can transform an energy system by meeting previously unmet energy demand. He noted that many emerging economies face similar challenges of constrained energy access and dependence on costly fossil fuels, suggesting Pakistan’s solar expansion offers valuable lessons for accelerating clean energy deployment.
The report argues that no other electricity generation source could have matched the speed, cost-effectiveness, and impact of Pakistan’s distributed solar expansion. It estimates that approximately 27 GW of distributed solar capacity was installed within two years—equivalent to the country’s total operational coal, gas, and oil power generation capacity built over decades.
The study also highlights the economic advantages of distributed solar, estimating that residential solar systems paired with medium-sized battery storage generate electricity at approximately PKR 20 per kWh, roughly half the average grid electricity tariff of PKR 40 per kWh.
Beyond reducing electricity costs, distributed solar has eliminated daytime load shedding in many areas, avoided more than USD 12 billion in oil and gas imports by February 2026, reduced carbon dioxide emissions and air pollution, and minimized transmission and distribution losses, according to the report.
The report was released shortly after the launch of the Electrify Now campaign, an initiative by civil society organizations calling on policymakers to accelerate electrification and achieve a 35% electrification rate by 2035, in line with the ambitions outlined in the COP31 Action Agenda.
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