Pakistan is a country with a lot of people and the energy demand that comes with that. But it is not a country with a lot of fuel. Which is a pity since the country is also quite poor and currently faces an oil import bill of around $15.8 billion, exacerbated by the ongoing Middle East conflict. Pakistan does, however, get more than its fair share of sunshine. This makes it prime territory for a solar-EV revolution. The former has already taken off on its own, but the latter is, for now, stuck in the mud. The SBP has warned in its half-year economic report that the country’s transition to electric mobility faces significant financing, infrastructure and implementation bottlenecks that may derail its long-term goals unless a sustainable financing model and coordinated policy execution are secured. While the country has a National New Energy Vehicle (NEV) Policy 2025-30, the SBP has emphasised that accelerating its rollout will be critical. The previous 2019 EV policy appeared to have been derailed by Covid-19, but its replacement might not need a pandemic to meet the same fate. For now, the shift to 30 per cent electric vehicles by 2030 appears to be stalling due to the lack of charging infrastructure in the country.
The solar boom has been such a success because the charging infrastructure shows up every morning. Things are a bit different when it comes to EVs. It is not as simple as putting panels on a roof and the country will require significant investment to build EV charging stations for millions of people. The country is currently planning to build 3000 EV charging stations by 2030, but it is doubtful that this will be enough to keep up with the government’s 30 per cent EV target, which translates into over 2 million vehicles. Some lawmakers themselves have stressed that Karachi alone would require around 4000-5000 EV charging stations while noting the difficulty that EV owners are currently having when looking for an EV charging station. Some reports also indicate that private investment in EV charging stations has also been limited.
It is also worth mentioning that having millions of electric vehicles on the roads will also require an entire ecosystem that is capable of servicing these vehicles at a cost that most Pakistanis can afford. With oil and gas becoming proving to be increasingly unreliable and energy independence seeming like a basic requirement for surviving the new geopolitical reality, an adequate charging infrastructure for EVs deserves all the state support it can get. There is no point in setting ambitious targets if the state is not going to work towards achieving them. A good place to start might be by subsidising smaller charging stations for two-wheelers, which only require a 220-volt power supply for charging. This might be more practical than fleets of EV buses considering that bikes are the far more common mode of transport, though it is not as though the former are not welcome. The ultimate aim should be the shortest route to the most number of EVs.
