Dawn Business
ISLAMABAD: Participants of a dialogue warned the government against taxing solar panels and batteries, saying it will undermine national energy security and penalise consumers who have cushioned the economy against global volatility. The consultative dialogue, titled “Beyond the Barrel: Making Pakistan Energy Secure in an Era of Geopolitical Shocks,” was organised by the Pakistan Renewable Energy Coalition (PREC) in collaboration with the Alliance for Climate Justice and Clean Energy (ACJCE) and SDPI. Economic and energy expert Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri said Pakistan must pivot to renewables and storage to shield the economy from global energy shocks. Dr Suleri cautioned that successive energy shocks are intensifying inflationary pressures and eroding fragile gains made under the ongoing IMF programme. He warned that if international oil prices breach $105 per barrel, domestic inflation could again surge into double digits, squeezing household budgets and social safety nets. “Taxing solar panels and batteries at this juncture would undermine both energy security and consumer protection,” said Mr Suleri. Delivering special remarks, Lidy Nacpil, Coordinator of the Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD), said several Asian economies are grappling with the twin burden of sovereign debt and capacity payments locked into legacy power purchase agreements. She stressed that citizens have both the mandate and responsibility to press their governments for credible policy alternatives that advance renewable energy. She also underlined the need for Pakistan to renegotiate existing power purchase agreements to ease the mounting capacity payment burden on consumers and the national exchequer. Speakers unanimously stressed that Pakistan can no longer afford to treat energy security as a question of fuel imports alone and must urgently redirect public resources towards renewables, storage and grid modernisation. Framing the geopolitical backdrop, Engr Ubaidur Rehman Zia, head of the Energy Unit at SDPI, noted that the global energy system was built on the assumption that shipping lanes, terminals and supply chains would always hold. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, he said, has shattered that assumption and exposed the fragility of an economy heavily reliant on imported fossil fuels. He observed that rising international fuel prices are not only pushing up generation costs but also feeding directly into the cost of essential services, transport and food, with the heaviest burden falling on low-income households. Presenting the case for renewables as a strategic shield, Nabiya Imran of Renewables First said solar energy has already provided Pakistan with a structural hedge against global price volatility. Since 2018, she noted, the country’s people-led solar revolution has helped avoid an estimated $12 billion in oil and gas imports, protecting the balance of payments and strengthening national energy security. She urged policymakers to institutionalise this momentum through consistent policy signals, enabling regulation and investment in storage and flexibility resources. Offering a legal and industrial perspective, Muhammad Abdul Rafe of the Alternative Law Collective pointed out that rising gas prices have already pushed a significant segment of Pakistan’s industry towards self-generated solar power, reducing demand for imported LNG. He cautioned, however, that contractual rigidities and unaligned planning have left the country facing a surplus of 24 LNG cargoes between July 2025 and December 2031. Muhammad Badar Alam, CEO of the Policy Research Institute for Equitable Development (PRIED), reaffirmed civil society’s commitment to supporting an evidence-based, just and resilient energy transition. He stressed that the recommendations emerging from the dialogue would feed directly into advocacy around the FY2026–27 federal budget, ensuring that immediate fiscal measures align with Pakistan’s long-term goals of energy security, affordability and climate resilience. The dialogue reflected a consensus that Pakistan must move decisively beyond reactive fuel cost adjustments and commit to a proactive, indigenous and renewables-led energy security framework that protects the economy from external shocks, safeguards consumers, and positions the country for a cleaner and more sovereign energy future. Experts called for urgent and decisive action to secure Pakistan’s energy independence, warning that the ongoing global turmoil triggered by the Strait of Hormuz crisis has exposed the country’s vulnerability to international fossil fuel markets and supply shocks. Published in Dawn, April 9th, 2026
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