The dying solar net metering has rescued Pakistan from daytime load shedding at a time when the country is undergoing the worst power crisis.

Meanwhile, the authorities have ramped up furnace oil-based power generation to full capacity while delaying scheduled maintenance at nuclear plants in an effort to sustain electricity supply amid worsening LNG shortages.

Disruptions in liquefied natural gas flows, linked to regional instability following the Iran war, have strained the country’s energy mix, forcing reliance on costlier thermal options.

At the same time, reduced reservoir releases have curtailed hydropower output, further tightening supply.

The growing penetration of solar energy has eased daytime demand but shifted the burden to evening hours, intensifying shortages after sunset.

The power division minister, Awais Khan Leghari, on Thursday attributed the prolonged outages to the reduction in LNG-based and hydel-based electricity generation due to the recent Iran-US war, which had crippled oil and LNG supplies following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

“For every 500 to 600 megawatts of shortfall, around one hour of load management is required,” he said, adding that the current deficit had necessitated load shedding of six to seven hours.

It means that solar net metering has saved four hours of load shedding in the country. At present, the country has installed solar net metering capacity of up to 8,000MW.

Leghari clarified that no load shedding was being carried out during the daytime, as demand remained lower and generation was sufficient, whereas load management was primarily implemented during night peak hours.

He said the government ensured fair distribution of load shedding across urban and rural areas and had recently extended outages to industrial sectors as well after domestic consumers began facing longer interruptions.

He also apologised to the masses who were facing prolonged power outages. “If the public is facing any inconvenience due to the unavailability of electricity at night and during peak hours, I am directly answerable,” he said, adding, “We apologise, but the circumstances are beyond our control”.

LNG facilities in Qatar had been hit during the Iran-Israel war, which led to the suspension of LNG supplies to Pakistan.

The power minister claimed that there was no load shedding during the day. However, he skipped informing the nation that solar net metering owners had saved the country from daytime load shedding by injecting over 2,000MW of electricity.

The power minister is an architect of introducing the solar net metering policy, which had shelved future solar net metering plans.

While addressing a press conference, Leghari said that the country was facing a shortfall of 3,400MW, which forced the power distribution companies to manage through load shedding during peak hours.

Due to solar net metering, the peak time has shifted to night-time, when the country has witnessed a peak demand of 20,000MW electricity.

However, those plants had also disappeared during the entire saga which were receiving over Rs1.2 trillion to Rs2 trillion in capacity payments annually.

“The new solar net metering policy had been introduced not to save the consumers but it aimed at generating money to pay capacity payments for those power plants that were shut down and receiving huge money,” experts say.

“A significant decline in liquefied natural gas (LNG)-based and hydel power generation amid the prevailing situation in the Gulf region, electricity demand in April had witnessed sharp fluctuations, ranging from around 9,000 megawatts to as high as 20,000 megawatts on April 15, which reflected a rapid surge within a short period,” the minister said, adding that in April 2025, around 3,200MW of electricity was generated from hydel sources and 3,000MW from LNG. Furnace oil-based generation had remained minimal due to its high cost.

However, he said that gas supply to most LNG-based power plants had been suspended. “Out of a total LNG-based generation capacity of around 6,000 megawatts, only about 500 megawatts is currently being produced, that too using alternative fuel,” he said, adding that hydel generation had also declined to around 1,600MW this April.

He claimed that this had further widened the gap between demand and supply. The decline was due to lower water releases from major reservoirs such as Tarbela and Mangla.

The provinces were demanding less water amid prevailing weather conditions and ongoing crop harvesting. He added that water could not be released solely for electricity generation, as it is primarily reserved for agricultural needs.

He maintained that furnace oil-based plants were being operated at full capacity; however, the system was still facing a deficit of approximately 3,400MW.

Leghari added that some southern regions, including areas served by HESCO and K-Electric, were not facing additional load shedding due to relatively better power availability.

He claimed to have reduced costs during the past few years, which resulted in a 3.8% increase in demand.

He also maintained that the government was following the judicious use of electricity, particularly during peak hours.

Hydropower generation stood at around 3,200MW in April 2025, which has dropped to about 1,671MW this year due to reduced water releases from Mangla and Tarbela.

The minister said that no load shedding was being, or would be, carried out during off-peak daytime hours.

“When demand rises above 16,500MW, power from gas-based plants is required. In the absence of gas, the country has limited options to meet demand,” he said.

Responding to comments regarding the country’s installed capacity of 46,000MW, he said that it did not translate into available generation under current fuel constraints.

“Installed capacity exists, which is why there was no load shedding before April,” he said.