60GW later, batteries come knocking

Business Recorder reported that Pakistan imported about $405 million of solar panels and $182 million of lithium-ion batteries during 1QFY27. Measured against panel spending, battery purchases now come to roughly one dollar for each $2.2 of panels, while two years ago the panel-to-battery ratio stood at $44 to one. The publication argues that the country's solar shift is moving from generating power toward storing it.

The first phase centred on generation, as households installed panels to cut daytime electricity costs and rely less on a costly grid, helped by a sharp fall in global panel prices. That phase is still running, with panel imports having recovered after a slower stretch earlier this year. Storage is now catching up quickly, and the article says batteries alter the link with the grid by changing when power is drawn from it.

Imports already total close to 60,000MW of panel capacity, yet officially net-metered capacity remains only a small share of that base. Solar module prices appear to have levelled off near $0.10 to $0.11 per watt, whereas battery prices sit at historically low points with further room to fall. The article also notes that the revised net-metering framework may make exporting surplus power less valuable, which could strengthen the case for home batteries and shift evening demand toward distributed storage.