Pakistan blackouts highlight ‘urgency’ of hydropower projects

Renewables expansion in the market is still unable to replace thermal power. 

Major blackouts in Pakistan give light on the ‘urgency’ of hydropower projects in the market, Fitch Solutions reported. 

Just last 23 January, Pakistan experienced a blackout, following a major blackout in October 2022, which affected southern provinces in the country. Fitch linked this to the market’s ageing grid network. 

Fitch added that the current expansion of Pakistan’s renewables is still unable to replace conventional thermal power. 

“With the blackouts and the market's status as a net importer of fossil fuels, we believe that it should be an indication to the government to step up support for non-hydropower renewables and increase the urgency of hydropower projects, presenting upside risks for our forecasts,” Fitch Solutions reported. 

Read more: Pakistan’s ageing grid network may be behind major blackouts

With the little government support for solar and wind projects, Fitch forecast that non-hydropower will grow to 5.06 gigawatts in 2032 from 2.8GW in end-2022. 

There are only 25 solar and wind projects in the pipeline, much lower than the 54 hydropower projects.