Islamabad
\nEnergy experts, industry professionals, and policy analysts have said that battery storage can play a transformative role in stabilizing the national grid, reducing load-shedding, and enabling the transition to a cleaner and more resilient energy system. The suggestion was made at a high-level policy seminar organized by Pak-German Climate and Energy Partnership (PGCEP) in collaboration with Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) on behalf of the German Development Cooperation. The seminar, titled: \u201cBattery Energy Storage Systems (BESS): Applications and Impact on Demand Defection in the Power Sector of Pakistan\u201d brought together stakeholders from government, industry, and academia to explore pathways for scaling up BESS adoption.
\nKim Brinkmann, Advisor to PGCEP, emphasized that forward-looking policies and innovative financing mechanisms are essential to upscale the power sector. \u201cBattery storage is not a distant future for Pakistan \u2014 it is already happening. Under the PGCEP, we see this dialogue as essential to unlock its potential through policy clarity, private sector investment, and technical capacity,\u201d she said.
\nDr. Khalid Waleed, Energy Economy Expert at SDPI, said Pakistan is at the crossroads of solar energy expansion and new storage technologies. \u201cBatteries must be considered a grid asset. With indigenous resources like salt mines, Pakistan has ideal conditions for sodium-based batteries. We need pilot projects, efficient retirement of outdated power plants, and integrated planning to harness $1.2 billion through coal-to-credit initiatives over the next two decades,\u201d he noted.
\nHighlighting global trends, Haneea Isaad, Energy Finance Specialist at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), said lithium-ion batteries are gaining traction across households, industries, and commercial sectors, while costs have declined sharply worldwide. \u201cPakistan recorded over 4.1 GWh of BESS installed capacity in January 2025, now exceeding 7 GWh. With imports projected to reach 400 MWh in the first two months of 2025 alone, the shift is accelerating,\u201d she added.
\nMuhammad Zakria, Executive Director, System Operations (ISMO) highlighted the challenges of variable renewable energy (VRE) integration and stressed the need for utility-scale solutions. \u201cA 20 MW pilot BESS project is already underway at Jhimpir. Such storage can address intermittency, frequency regulation, and ramping challenges the grid faces,\u201d he said.
\nSharing lessons from Europe, Tobias Dertmann, BESS Integration Expert, said lithium-ion batteries have become dominant due to modularity and cost efficiency. \u201cWhat began as pilots is now commercial-scale deployment, with batteries providing more than 98% availability in European grids,\u201d he noted.
\nIndustry representatives including Rizwan Razaq, CTO Huawei, and Usman Waheed, Country Manager Sungrow, highlighted the role of private companies in advancing energy storage and called for reduced duties, special import protocols, and regulatory clarity to encourage investment.
\nPanel chair, Imtiaz Hussain Baloch, Director General of the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA), admitted that long-term planning has been missing in Pakistan\u2019s power sector. \u201cBESS and other modern technologies are of paramount importance for reliability and resilience. Serious planning is overdue,\u201d he stressed.
\nConcluding the dialogue, Jens Brinkmann, Head of Project at GIZ, stressed the importance of collaboration, and said: \u201cBattery storage has the potential to become a cornerstone of Pakistan\u2019s energy transition. German Government stands ready to showcase global best practices and support Pakistan in adapting them. Real progress, however, will depend on coordinated planning and clear commitment across all sectors.\u201d
\nThe seminar, panel discussion moderated by Engr. Ahad Nazir, Head of the Centre for Private Sector Engagement at SDPI, concluded with a consensus that BESS can help Pakistan move towards a sustainable, secure, and affordable energy future if backed by strong policy frameworks and innovative financing models.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Islamabad Energy experts, industry professionals, and policy analysts have said that battery storage can play a transformative role in stabilizing the national grid, reducing load-shedding, and enabling the transition to a cleaner and more resilient energy system. The suggestion was made at a high-level policy seminar organized by Pak-German Climate and Energy Partnership (PGCEP) in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":502110,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-502082","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-national"},"yoast_head":"\n