ISLAMABAD: The provincial government in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province will distribute 275,000 solar systems among households in the upcoming fiscal year at a cost of Rs18 billion [$64.7 million], state media reported this week.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah last week presented the budget for the upcoming fiscal year in the provincial parliament and made the same announcement.
“The provincial government is also going to launch a subsidized solar financing program to enable middle-income families to install rooftop solar systems,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.
Pakistan, a country that suffers prolonged power outages every summer amid scarce fuel supplies, has seen an unprecedented boom in rooftop solar systems over the past three years.
Households and businesses have turned to private solar power generation to escape record electricity prices, frequent power outages and inflation-driven energy costs in recent years.
Solar power grew from 4 percent of the energy mix in Pakistan in 2021 to over 14–25 percent in 2024-2025, official figures show.
Driven by skyrocketing grid tariffs, Pakistan became one of the world’s top new solar adopters, importing roughly 22 gigawatts (GW) of solar panels in 2024 alone.
Industry data shows tens of thousands of new solar connections have been added annually, significantly reducing demand from the grid during daylight hours.
