🔳 Darkness Under the Lamp: Why Is Balochistan, the ...

🔳 Darkness Under the Lamp: Why Is Balochistan, the Province That Can Power the Whole Country, Itself Dependent on Iranian Electricity?

Army Chief Field Marshal General Asim Munir should order a policy audit of the Iran Gwadar transmission line project.

This is not merely a power supply project. It is a question of Pakistan’s economic sovereignty, energy security and the future of Gwadar. The Ministry of Energy and the bureaucracy must be questioned immediately, because linking Gwadar’s electricity supply to international sanctions, external pressure and cross-border supply can prove to be a serious policy blunder.

On this sensitive issue, it is essential that the Ministry of Energy and NEPRA provide a formal, clear and data-based explanation so that public concerns can be addressed.

This is almost 25 to 27 times greater than Pakistan’s total electricity requirement. In simple words, nature has given Balochistan enough power to end Pakistan’s darkness forever.

But the tragic reality is that instead of using these local and inexpensive resources, we are buying expensive electricity from Iran. It is like a person having a well in his own courtyard, yet remaining thirsty and buying expensive water from a neighbour, without even lowering a bucket into his own well.

No country in the world hands over the lifeline of such a sensitive asset to another country.

On one side, the province has 1.2 million MW of solar potential and the ability to light up the whole country. On the other side, due to outdated grid infrastructure and poor governance, 64% of its own area remains in darkness.

🔲 Public Investigative Series | Episode 32

Topic: How Can Pakistan’s Electricity System Be Fixed?

Title: Iranian Electricity – Part 4

🔺 When institutions avoid providing facts, then reaching the truth becomes the responsibility of the people.

Written and researched by Syed Shayan

Global Energy Monitor, commonly known as GEM, is a US-based and internationally active non-governmental research organization. It collects, analyzes and provides free public data on energy projects around the world, including power plants, coal mines, gas pipelines, solar, wind, nuclear, oil and gas infrastructure.

Its purpose is to ensure that information about the energy sector does not remain limited to governments, companies or expensive subscription based services, but is also available to researchers, journalists, policymakers and the public.

GEM particularly develops global databases on energy infrastructure, including power plants, coal plants, gas projects, oil and gas fields, pipelines, wind farms, solar farms and nuclear power plants.

Through its data, one can identify which power plant is operating in which country, which one is under construction, which one is planned, what its capacity is and what fuel it uses.

One important feature of GEM is that it also provides the original source with its information, such as a news report, government report, company filing, regulatory document or other reference. This allows researchers to verify the information independently.

Most importantly, the organization describes its work as being based on the principles of transparency and accountability.

For those researching Pakistan’s electricity sector and IPPs, Global Energy Monitor can be highly useful, because it provides global data on Pakistan’s power plants, coal projects, gas projects, solar projects and wind projects.

For example, one can see which coal power plants are operating in Pakistan, which projects were planned, which were cancelled and how other countries are moving from fossil fuels toward renewables.

In simple words, Global Energy Monitor, or GEM, is an open research record of the energy world, where information on electricity, oil, gas, coal, solar, wind and nuclear projects is available in one place.

Recently, Global Energy Monitor updated a research page on its GEM Wiki titled “Power sector transition in Balochistan.” This page is a mirror for our rulers, planners and energy institutions.

This is not an ordinary annual report, but a continuously updated research page. The latest available update was made on May 13, 2026.

It contains important information on Balochistan’s solar, wind, transmission, electricity imports from Iran, QESCO, CPEC, climate policy and future energy possibilities.

The basic conclusion of this research is that the very Balochistan which has been left at the mercy of darkness, a weak grid and imported electricity has extraordinary potential to provide Pakistan with cheap, clean and local electricity.

In its report on Balochistan, Global Energy Monitor states that this province can provide energy to the whole of Pakistan and permanently end the country’s electricity crisis. Yet, sadly, many areas and countless residents of Balochistan are still deprived of electricity.

According to the report, Balochistan is a province where resources for electricity generation are abundant, but the system for delivering electricity to ordinary people is extremely weak.

Almost 40% of the province’s population still lacks access to electricity, while 64% of Balochistan’s area either has no electricity or very limited electricity.

On electricity access in Balochistan, Global Energy Monitor says that the province has massive natural resources for power generation. It has abundant sunlight, wind, gas, coal and other energy sources.

But the problem is that Balochistan’s own people remain deprived of electricity and continue to rely on electricity imported from Iran.

The province has a weak grid, an outdated electricity delivery system, poor bill recovery, insufficient transmission lines, and slow and poor government planning. This is why Balochistan’s true potential has not been fully realized.

The report further states that Balochistan’s electricity demand is less than 1,500 MW, yet the province still faces 8 to 12 hours of load-shedding daily.

The province is geographically vast, its population is widely scattered, and the electricity distribution system is weak. As a result, many areas are still not fully connected to the national grid, especially Makran and Gwadar, which depend on electricity imported from Iran.

In remote areas, more than 19,000 solar home systems have been installed.

At the same time, Balochistan’s electricity distribution system is mainly operated through QESCO, the Quetta Electric Supply Company.

QESCO is the only major electricity distribution company in Balochistan. Compared with other companies in the country, its number of consumers is lower, but its service area is the largest.

This means QESCO has to supply electricity across a very wide area, which also makes its problems more serious.

According to GEM, QESCO’s line losses are 27.9%, while bill recovery is only 39.8%.

This is an extremely low recovery rate and increases financial pressure on the company.

Net metering in Balochistan is also extremely limited. Until 2020, net-metered capacity was only 0.3 MW, and only 6 net metering licenses had been issued after 2016.

GEM has described QESCO’s system as old and weak, and has also mentioned damage to several transformers after the 2022 floods.

According to GEM, Balochistan’s electricity grid is weak. The province has five 220 kV substations, but not a single 500 kV substation.

Since Balochistan is spread over a vast area, long transmission lines are required to deliver electricity. Long lines also cause higher losses and make the system more expensive.

That is why GEM has referred to several new grid and transmission projects, but overall, Balochistan’s electricity system remains extremely weak compared to its actual needs.

Balochistan is not only Pakistan’s largest province by area, it is also Pakistan’s largest solar treasure.

According to figures available through Global Energy Monitor and the World Bank, Balochistan’s technical solar potential is around 1.2 million MW.

This is approximately 25 to 27 times greater than Pakistan’s current total installed power capacity.

In many areas of Balochistan, solar intensity is so high that the region can be compared with some of the world’s best solar zones, such as Saudi Arabia, North Africa and the desert regions of Australia.

In some areas, Direct Normal Irradiance, or DNI, reaches very high levels, making them highly suitable for large industrial solar parks and Concentrated Solar Power, or CSP, projects.

But the tragedy is that no government has made the serious effort required to connect Balochistan’s energy resources with the national grid.

If a province has 1.2 million MW of solar potential, then running its sensitive coastal city Gwadar on imported electricity from Iran is nothing less than a failure of national policy.

If even a small portion of Balochistan’s solar resources is developed seriously, Pakistan can not only meet its own electricity shortage but may also be in a position to export energy in the future.

But for this, Pakistan will have to move away from the old model of imported fuel and imported electricity, and build an energy system based on local sunlight, wind, water and land.

That is Pakistan’s real energy security.

Similarly, Balochistan also has significant potential for wind power generation. Nushki, Kharan and Qila Saifullah are areas where electricity can be generated from wind.

In addition, some areas of Chagai, Pishin and Makran have natural underground heat. Many countries in the world use this underground heat to produce steam, run turbines and generate electricity.

That is why these areas are also important for future geothermal energy.

It should be noted that producing electricity from the Earth’s internal heat is called geothermal energy.

Deep inside the Earth, natural heat exists. In some regions, this heat comes close to the surface in the form of hot water, steam, hot springs, volcanic structures, fault lines or hot underground rocks.

This heat is used to warm water, produce steam, run turbines and generate electricity through generators.

In simple words, Balochistan has enormous natural strength to generate electricity from sunlight, wind and underground heat.

This land is rich in resources, but our poor and absurd governance has preferred dependence on others instead of benefiting from these resources.

This mindset has pushed Balochistan into darkness, expensive electricity and endless external dependence instead of energy self-sufficiency.

According to GEM, Balochistan is not only important for solar and wind energy, but also for coal, gas and oil reserves.

The province has 617 million tons of coal, while around 33% of Pakistan’s natural gas, 9% of its coal and 2% of its oil are also linked with Balochistan.

According to GEM, almost 40% of Pakistan’s primary energy production comes from this province.

Global Energy Monitor has also referred to important locations in Balochistan’s energy landscape, including Degari Collieries, Sharigh Coal Mine, Sor Range Coal Mine, Sui and Bolan East.

The same research also states that HUBCO’s 1,292 MW coal-fired power plant may retire in 2027 after completing its term.

However, despite the existence of old energy resources such as gas, coal and oil, the future path for Balochistan is to gradually move away from expensive and polluting fuels and toward sunlight, wind and clean energy.

In its latest report, GEM has also revealed a project in Balochistan named “Import for 100 MW Power from Iran.”

This project includes the construction of a 220 kV grid station in Gwadar and a transmission line from Iran to Gwadar.

According to GEM, phase one of this project is currently under construction.

The full name of this project is “Import for 100 MW Power from Iran, 220 kV Grid Station Gwadar & Allied Transmission Line from Iran to Gwadar.”

Apparently, the project has been designed to improve electricity supply to Gwadar and Makran Division.

Under this project, a roughly 75 kilometre long 220 kV double circuit transmission line is being laid from Polan in Iran to Gabd on the Pakistan-Iran border, and then from Gabd to Gwadar.

The first section, from Polan to Gabd, is approximately 29 to 30 kilometres long and has been completed, while the second section, from Gabd to Gwadar, consists of around 45 kilometres of line and a 220 kV GIS grid station in Gwadar. It is reported to be under construction or in the funding stage.

In May 2023, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi jointly inaugurated this project.

Before that, in February 2023, its first section had been energized, initially at 132 kV.

Under this new project, NEPRA approved the import of an additional 100 MW of electricity from Iran on May 15, 2026, which I have already discussed in previous episodes.

The real question is not why electricity is being taken from Iran.

The real question is this: if the State of Pakistan, the National Transmission and Dispatch Company and the relevant institutions can take a 75 kilometre-long transmission line, grid station and complete infrastructure up to the Iranian border, then why has the same infrastructure not been extended within Balochistan to its own cities, towns, solar zones, wind corridors and local energy centres?

If planning, investment, engineering and administrative decision-making are possible for bringing electricity from across the border, then why is the same seriousness not visible for connecting the people of Balochistan, Gwadar, Turbat, Panjgur and Makran with local energy?

Gwadar is not an ordinary city of Pakistan. It is considered the central point of CPEC, maritime trade, port economy and Pakistan’s national future.

Keeping the energy lifeline of such a strategic and sensitive city dependent on cross-border supply is a serious mistake.

Iran is our neighbouring country, and good relations with Iran are in Pakistan’s interest. But making the energy and economic life of an important national asset so heavily dependent on external sources is not wise policy.

If political tension, sanctions, payment disputes or technical faults arise tomorrow, the entire system of Gwadar and Makran could be at risk.

This is not merely a fear. The Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project is already a clear example of a structural crisis in Pakistan’s energy policy.

Under the 2010 agreement, Iran completed its portion of the pipeline, but Pakistan failed to build its part due to international sanctions and pressure.

Because of this delay and the Take-or-Pay clause in the agreement, Pakistan faced a serious legal risk in 2024 of a possible penalty of up to $18 billion. To avoid this, the government had to approve limited construction work near the border on an emergency basis.

The United States has also clearly opposed this project.

This example shows that major energy agreements with Iran are not merely commercial matters. They also come with international sanctions, diplomatic pressure and legal risks that Pakistan must take into account.

In this context, the plan to bring an additional 100 MW of electricity from Iran raises even more serious questions.

When combined with the older supply line, the total reaches approximately 170 to 190 MW, or nearly 200 MW in public terms.

The question is: is this a temporary arrangement, or is a permanent energy system being created for the coming decades?

If it is temporary, where is the local alternative plan?

And if it is permanent, then why is the electricity supply of an important city like Gwadar being made dependent on cross border supply instead of the national grid and local resources?

The painful truth is that there is no shortage of local energy resources in Balochistan.

The province has extraordinary solar radiation, wind opportunities, vast land and geothermal possibilities in some areas.

If the State can lay a 75 kilometre line toward Iran, why can similar lines not be built inside Balochistan to connect solar parks, wind projects and cities?

Local solar and wind electricity is relatively free from dollar payments, global oil prices and external risks, while imported electricity comes with all these risks.

Concern increases further when the Iranian electricity agreement includes dollar payments, a tariff linked with oil prices, capacity payments and Take-or-Pay principles.

Pakistan is already buried under the burden of unbalanced IPP contracts and expensive electricity.

If cross-border electricity is also purchased on the same model, it will become another long-term financial burden on the people.

The ordinary citizen’s question is very simple: if billions of rupees have to be spent every month on this electricity, where will this money come from, and who will ultimately bear the burden?

Therefore, the issue is not only electricity from Iran. The real issue is the failure to strengthen Pakistan’s internal energy structure.

Decision makers must understand that the correct way to light up Gwadar is not to permanently turn it into a consumer of external electricity, but to make it energy self-sufficient through Balochistan’s own sunlight, wind and land resources.

Taking limited and temporary electricity from Iran may be a short term necessity, but turning it into national policy is a dangerous mindset.

Pakistan should not place the lifeline of its border regions and economic centres on a system that will always remain under the shadow of sanctions, regional tension and payment disputes.

The real national interest is to expand the national grid within Balochistan, prioritize local solar and wind projects, and ask why billions of rupees should be spent every year on cross-border electricity when such vast natural power exists within Pakistan itself.

If serious questions are not raised on this policy today, there is a risk that Gwadar and Makran will remain dependent on imported electricity for years to come instead of local energy.

Decision-makers must understand that instead of making Balochistan a consumer of foreign electricity, it can be made Pakistan’s local energy hub. That is the only correct path.

Our demand is clear: the 75-kilometre long 220 kV transmission line project for importing electricity from the Pakistan-Iran border to Gwadar should be stopped immediately, and public money should be invested in infrastructure that strengthens Pakistan from within, instead of making it more dependent on cross-border electricity.

This matter is no longer limited to the Ministry of Energy or NEPRA. It has become a question of Pakistan’s economic sovereignty, energy security and the future of Gwadar.

The National Assembly and Senate Standing Committees on Energy should take immediate notice of this project and seek written explanations from the Ministry of Energy, NTDC and the relevant institutions.

They must explain why, despite Balochistan’s extraordinary solar, wind and coastal energy potential, public money is being spent on infrastructure that makes Pakistan dependent on cross-border electricity instead of self-sufficient.

Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir should order an immediate policy audit of this project and direct the formation of a local energy security plan for Makran, Gwadar and coastal Balochistan.

This plan should prioritize local solar parks, wind power, battery storage, microgrids and regional power systems instead of imported electricity.

Gwadar is not just a city. It is Pakistan’s future economic gateway and the central point of CPEC.

Leaving its electricity lifeline at the mercy of external supply, sanctions or global pressure is a grave policy mistake.

The National Security Council, SIFC and the higher state leadership should view this matter from the perspective of national energy security.

Balochistan should not be turned into a consumer of imported electricity. It should be turned into Pakistan’s local energy hub.

When nature has blessed Balochistan with sunlight, wind and coastal energy, why does the State not place it on the path of self-sufficiency?

Note: The AI generated thumbnail used in this article is a symbolic and explanatory image.

The maps of Pakistan and Iran shown in it are not presented as official or geographical references. They have been used only to explain in a simple way how the issue of Iranian electricity is connected with Gwadar, the Makran region and Pakistan’s energy system.

Across the world, maps are often shown in simplified and symbolic form in public awareness infographics, route maps, weather maps and energy diagrams, so that the core issue can reach the ordinary reader quickly and clearly.

The purpose of this image is not to represent borders with geographical accuracy, but to highlight a sensitive energy policy issue for public understanding.

[To be continued in the next episode.]