Islamabad:A study on the “Optimal Siting of Grid-Scale Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) in Pakistan,” has suggested a data-driven national roadmap to deploy storage technology and ease mounting grid constraints in Pakistan.
The study conducted by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) in collaboration with Network for Clean Energy Transition (NCET) was launched here Monday. The event, held at SDPI, brought together experts, regulators and researchers to discuss how BESS can enhance grid flexibility, integrate Variable Renewable Energy (VRE), reduce curtailment, and address transmission bottlenecks, as the country pursues its clean energy transition.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Kashif Imran, a Professor at US-Pakistan Centre for Advanced Studies in Energy, National University of Science and Technology (NUST), said the study offered valuable insight into optimal siting of BESS but pointed out continuing confusion around its deployment across the sector.
He called for a three-tier approach to facilitate investors and noted that the study, though transmission-focused, had been conducted with limited available data, underscoring the need to harness data analytics more effectively.
Dr Imran said BESS could also help reduce transmission losses and address voltage fluctuations, adding that since storage is not available round the clock, its applications should be combined to meet specific grid needs.
He cited the TOPSIS method as one option for guiding BESS site selection and stressed the importance of reverse power flow analysis to identify problem locations on the network. He added that with more comprehensive data, planners could arrive at a clearer, more complete picture for optimal BESS sizing.
Presenting the study findings, Muhammad Umer, Research Associate at SDPI, said Pakistan’s power sector continues to face persistent Energy Not Served (ENS) losses amounting to 2.77 GWh.
He said the study was designed around four core objectives — developing a data-driven siting framework for BESS, mitigating congestion and curtailment, building a business case for alignment with CPEC 2.0 investment, and formulating a policy and regulatory roadmap.
Outlining the study’s policy recommendations, Umer called for mandating BESS modelling in the Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan (IGCEP), integrating BESS into Transmission System Expansion Planning cycles, adopting bottom-up forecasting, and establishing a national BESS deployment roadmap.
During the question-and-answer session, Dr Imran reiterated that progress on BESS deployment must be grounded in technical data. He said financing mechanisms remain critical to scaling up BESS, pointing out that the PSDP has allocated Rs500 million for a BESS project at Jhimpir.
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