Solar power & social justice: why Pakistan needs a people-centred energy policy

Pakistan’s energy sector is once again in transition. The federal government’s proposed changes to the net-metering regime, shifting toward a revised net-billing framework with lower buy-back rates for surplus solar electricity have triggered understandable debate. At a time when households are struggling with rising tariffs and inflationary pressures, any policy that affects energy affordability must be examined through the lens of public interest.

The stated objective of the federal reforms is to address structural imbalances in the power sector: mounting circular debt, grid management challenges, and cross-subsidy distortions. These are legitimate concerns. However, reforms that risk slowing down rooftop solar adoption could unintentionally undermine one of the few success stories in Pakistan’s otherwise troubled energy landscape.

Over the past few years, rooftop solar has empowered middle-class households, small businesses, and community institutions to manage their electricity costs while contributing clean energy to the grid. Curtailing incentives too sharply may reduce future investments at precisely the moment when Pakistan needs to accelerate its transition toward renewables.

At the same time, the national conversation on solar policy must expand beyond rooftop economics and grid accounting. The deeper question is this: who benefits from energy reform, and who is left behind?

This is where provincial initiatives offer valuable lessons. The Sindh Government, led by the Pakistan People’s Party, has approached solar energy not merely as a market adjustment but as a social justice intervention. Through large-scale distribution of solar home systems to low-income families under the Sindh Solar Energy Project, hundreds of thousands of households are being provided with access to affordable and reliable electricity.

For families in rural and peri-urban areas, a modest solar kit can mean the difference between darkness and opportunity between children studying under electric light or kerosene fumes, between food preservation or daily waste, between connectivity and isolation. Energy poverty is not an abstract statistic; it is a lived reality. Addressing it requires targeted, state-led interventions.

Equally important is the establishment of solar parks and utility-scale renewable projects across Sindh. These projects are not only expanding clean energy generation but also creating local employment opportunities, building technical capacity, and reducing long-term reliance on imported fuels. In a country grappling with foreign exchange constraints, renewable energy is as much an economic necessity as it is an environmental imperative.

The federal government’s policy recalibration should therefore be guided by three principles.

First, reforms must maintain investor confidence in distributed solar. Sudden or steep reductions in compensation rates risk sending adverse signals to households and small businesses considering installation. A phased and predictable transition would better protect both consumers and the grid.

Second, policy must differentiate between high-income adopters and vulnerable consumers. Targeted subsidies, concessional financing, and social protection-linked solar schemes can ensure that renewable adoption does not become an elite privilege.

Third, federal and provincial coordination is essential. Provinces experimenting with pro-poor solar distribution and renewable infrastructure development should be seen as partners in a national transition strategy, not parallel actors operating in isolation.

Pakistan cannot afford to treat solar energy as merely a regulatory problem to be managed. It must be viewed as a transformative opportunity to democratize power generation, reduce inequality, and strengthen economic resilience.

As the debate unfolds, it is crucial that reform does not come at the cost of momentum. The goal should not simply be to stabilize the grid, but to reimagine it making it cleaner, fairer, and more accessible. If solar policy is anchored in equity as well as efficiency, Pakistan can turn today’s controversy into tomorrow’s breakthrough.

For a country blessed with abundant sunlight, the path forward should be clear: let reform protect the system, but let it also empower the people.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026