ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is accelerating plans to deploy battery energy storage across its electricity network to reduce exposure to Middle East fuel supply disruptions and manage a rapid expansion in solar power, Energy Minister Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari said this week.

The push to launch the country’s first Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) projects at the electricity distribution level comes as Pakistan seeks to make its power system less vulnerable to disruptions in imported fuel supplies caused by the conflict in the Middle East, while grappling with a consumer-led solar boom that has created new challenges for the national grid.

Pakistan remains reliant on imported liquefied natural gas for part of its power generation, particularly during periods of peak demand. Battery storage systems can store electricity when supply exceeds demand and release it when needed, allowing grids to accommodate more intermittent renewable power while reducing reliance on fuel-based generation.

“The Federal Minister emphasized that, in the context of risks arising in fuel supply from the Middle East, the Government of Pakistan is encouraging the promotion of Battery Energy Storage Systems at the distribution, transmission, and consumer levels in the power system,” Leghari said in a statement on X.

The statement said the minister had ordered officials to ensure sites were available at shortlisted grid stations and complete remaining technical studies and tender documents within a week so the distribution-level pilot projects could proceed.

The projects are being considered in areas where growing solar generation is causing “reverse power flow,” which occurs when locally generated electricity exceeds demand and flows back through a distribution network designed primarily to deliver electricity to consumers.

Pakistan has experienced one of the world’s fastest expansions of consumer solar in recent years, driven by falling panel prices and high grid electricity costs. Net-metered solar capacity reached 7,319 megawatts by March, according to the government’s latest Economic Survey.

The government is separately pursuing battery storage on the national transmission network. A BESS project in Jhampir, a major wind-energy region in the southern province of Sindh, is expected to be completed by the end of this year and will help stabilize the frequency of the national grid, the ministry said.

Leghari also directed the National Grid Company to identify locations and secure approvals for additional transmission-level battery projects, which the government aims to install and commission within the next two years.

Pakistan’s growing interest in battery storage has extended beyond government-led projects. The country imported an estimated 1.25 gigawatt-hours of battery energy storage systems in 2024 as households and businesses increasingly paired batteries with solar installations, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.

The government says the transition could also provide a buffer against external energy shocks. Pakistan has reduced the share of imported fuels in its electricity mix in recent years, but declining domestic natural gas reserves mean imported LNG remains important for the power and industrial sectors.

Those vulnerabilities have come into sharper focus during the current Middle East conflict, which has disrupted LNG supplies and shipping routes. In March, Leghari said LNG still accounted for around 10 percent of Pakistan’s electricity needs, with the fuel particularly important for meeting evening peak demand when solar generation disappears.