ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s power supply has remained stable despite disruptions to oil supplies caused by the ongoing Iran war and tensions in the Middle East, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Tuesday, attributing the stability to the country’s growing share of renewable energy.
The remarks come as the Iran-Israel-United States conflict has disrupted global energy markets and shipping routes, particularly through the Strait of Hormuz, a key corridor for oil supplies, raising concerns over energy security for import-dependent countries like Pakistan. 
Pakistan relies heavily on imported fuel, with most of its oil sourced from Gulf countries, making it vulnerable to supply shocks during regional crises. However, an increasing share of renewable energy in the power mix has helped cushion the impact of recent disruptions.
Pakistan’s solar boom has pre-empted more than $12 billion in fossil fuel imports since 2020 and could save another $6.3 billion in 2026 at current prices, according to think tanks Renewables First and the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
“Despite disruptions in oil supply due to the tense situation in the region, no energy crisis has emerged in the country because of the adequate share of renewable energy in electricity generation,” the prime minister said in a statement after he was briefed on “long-term planning for electricity supply in view of future requirements” amid the Middle East war.
Officials briefed the PM that renewable sources currently account for 55 percent of Pakistan’s electricity generation, compared to 45 percent from fossil fuels.
They added that work is underway to increase the share of renewable energy to 90 percent over the next ten years, reducing reliance on fossil fuels to 10 percent.
The South Asian country has boosted solar electricity generation by over three times the global average in 2025, fueled by a more than fivefold rise in solar capacity imports since 2022, according to data from Ember.
That combination of rapidly rising capacity and generation had propelled solar power from Pakistan’s fifth-largest electricity source in 2023 to its largest in 2025.
Over the first four months of 2025, solar farms generated an average of 25.3 percent of Pakistan’s utility electricity supplies, Ember data showed. That average compares with a solar share of 8 percent globally, around 11 percent in China, 8 percent in the United States and 7 percent in Europe.
Indeed, only 17 countries have ever registered a 25 percent or more share of monthly utility electricity supplies from solar farms, according to Ember.
Those nations are: Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Chile, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Portugal and Spain.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Sharif directed authorities to accelerate work on battery energy storage systems and to formulate a comprehensive strategy to further expand renewable energy at the national level, saying solar and other renewable sources represented the future of the power sector.
The prime minister also said Pakistan’s exports to Gulf countries had continued despite ongoing regional tensions, attributing this to diplomatic efforts to maintain trade flows.
He directed the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC) to arrange additional vessels to boost exports through sea routes, while officials noted that demand for Pakistani agricultural commodities in Gulf markets had been rising.
