PM Shehbaz Launches 100 MW Solar Project in Gilgit-Baltistan with 58 MW of Free Panels for Households

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has inaugurated a 100 MW solar power project in Gilgit-Baltistan and launched the distribution of 58 MW worth of free solar panels to local households, marking the federal government's largest concentrated rollout of distributed solar in a single province this year. The ceremony also covered foundation-stones for education and urban-security infrastructure as part of a broader development package for the region.

For Gilgit-Baltistan, where harsh winters, mountainous topography, and long power lines from down-country have historically meant unreliable grid supply and high outage hours, the dual announcement is structurally significant. The 100 MW utility-scale project will feed the regional grid, while the 58 MW worth of free panels lands directly on household roofs in a region where many feeders see double-digit daily outage hours during peak season.

The structure of the announcement

The package combines three different intervention types under one inauguration:

• 100 MW utility-scale solar commissioned and connected to the regional grid, adding firm daytime supply.
• 58 MW of free rooftop solar panels distributed to local households — designed to reduce average bills and provide load-shedding insurance for residential consumers.
• Renewable energy, education, and urban security foundation-stones for parallel infrastructure projects in the region.

Why the geography matters

Gilgit-Baltistan's energy economics differ sharply from down-country Pakistan. Long transmission distances mean delivered cost per unit is among the highest in the country, while the irradiance and clear-sky days at altitude make solar yield per installed kilowatt significantly higher than at sea level. A panel installed in Skardu or Hunza produces materially more annualised energy than the same panel installed in central Punjab, even after accounting for winter snow cover.

How this fits the broader policy direction

The Gilgit-Baltistan announcement sits inside a wider federal push that is simultaneously winding down the old net metering settlement for grid-connected rooftop solar in down-country Pakistan. The province-specific free-distribution programme is structurally different — it is a capital subsidy for households who would not otherwise install solar at all, rather than an export-tariff subsidy for households who would. That makes it politically and fiscally easier to defend than the old net metering arithmetic.

What the 58 MW of household solar represents on the ground

A 58 MW programme distributed in roughly 5 kW residential parcels is enough for around 11,600 households. Concentrated in a population the size of Gilgit-Baltistan's, that is a material share of grid-connected residential consumers — enough to visibly reduce evening DISCO load if the systems are configured for self-consumption.