There is a deliberate effort to portray solar power users as somehow unpatriotic. A new report, published in this newspaper’s sister publication, Profit, shows that it is not, though it also shows that solar power may be misused to evade taxes. No, those who have installed solar power are not doing the cheating, but those who are importing solar power panels from China probably are. As part of a policy to encourage the use of solar power, all import taxes and duties on solar panels were lifted. As a result, import data shows that at the price of $0.11 per watt in China, Pakistan had imported $1 billion of solar panels, or about 9500 MW worth. Since 2013, Pakistan has imported 21.000 MW worth. That sort of capacity has simply not been installed. Probably, one of the biggest of customs scams, in a country which has seen more than its fair share of them. Goods, not solar panels, are being brought in from China, and being declared as solar panels. No taxes are collected. The Customs authorities are duly ‘compensated’. The government loses revenue, and there is no knowing what the real situation of solar power is like.
One phenomenon that is problematic, not just for bean counters but distribution companies, is the off-grid phenomenon, where people just install solar power and do not connect it to the national grid. One reason for remaining on the grid even after installing solar power is a guaranteed power supply for that time when electricity is not being generated. However, once storage becomes possible, then remaining on the grid may not make sense.
Perhaps the most salient feature of solar power in Pakistan is that it is being adopted not just because grid electricity has become more expensive because of capacity charges, but solar power has become cheaper because of technological advancement, It should be noted that solar power is being adopted because it is cheaper, not because it is newer or more advanced than thermal power. There is need to make the power sector prepare for a switch from fossil-fuel powered generation to renewables. Solar power is the future, and any switch to it will not be because of any ideological imperative, but because of cost. Solar was environmentally friendly for ages, but had no takers. Now that it is cheaper, it seems everyone is jumping on the bandwagon, and there is nothing anyone can do.
