Pakistan’s Wheeling Auction: Storage Requirements and Electricity Costs
NEPRA’s September wheeling decisions address storage at participating solar and wind facilities and the charges involved in delivering electricity. This article explains those decisions and their implications for buyers; it is not a new October policy announcement.
The storage condition applies to auction participants
NEPRA’s 4 September 2026 determination requires participating solar and wind facilities to install batteries at the generating site. Certified battery firm capacity must be at least 10% of the facility’s firm capacity, not 10% of solar-panel nameplate capacity.
Certification follows the Market Commercial Code and the applicable procedure, with factors including inverter capacity, storage duration and availability. Batteries must charge from their associated generating facility. Installation and certification require verification; non-compliance has a consequence for the performance guarantee. The amended process provides for a first auction of 400 MW. NEPRA determination, 4 September 2026.
The condition is specific to these participants; a product listing or photograph does not establish compliance.
A power contract is different from an installation at the buyer’s site
Wheeling allows contracted electricity to travel through the network from a generator to an eligible buyer. The generating plant can therefore be separate from the premises where electricity is used. NEPRA’s original March process described an aggregate allocation of 800 MW of demand for wheeling. That allocation is not a purchase programme for an equivalent quantity of solar equipment. The process also addresses network congestion and allocation limits at particular nodes. NEPRA determination, 24 March 2026.
For electricity users, the distinction matters when discussing continuity of operations. A renewable supply contract and a plan for a local power interruption answer different needs. In APsolway’s assessment, storage at the generator should not automatically be treated as backup for the buyer’s own equipment. The delivery arrangement and the requirements at the place of use both need to be understood.
Compare the delivered cost, not only the energy price
NEPRA’s separate decision of 7 September deals with use-of-system charges and their adjustment. It distinguishes auction and non-auction arrangements and refers to sanctioned load in the treatment of fixed charges. The decision requests government notification. This article therefore does not present its numerical rates as independently verified, notified tariffs. NEPRA decision, 7 September 2026.
The practical implication is that a generator’s energy quotation may not represent the full delivered electricity cost. APsolway’s view is that comparisons should use the same delivery point, operating period and pattern of demand. Charges included in one offer and excluded from another can make apparently similar prices misleading. Assumptions about electricity use also matter: a site that runs intermittently may not match an estimate based on steady consumption.
Define what storage needs to do
Battery sizing involves more than a single percentage. Power describes how much can be delivered at a particular moment; energy describes the amount available over time. Supporting a brief, high demand and supplying a smaller load for several hours may require different designs. A useful design discussion connects those needs to the duration of each operating period and the loads that remain essential when normal supply changes.
For APsolway, equipment selection starts with that intended use: which loads must operate, their timing and the conditions of the supply. Its inverter product range should be considered within the relevant system design and technical requirements. Local backup needs, generating-site storage and auction certification should remain distinct parts of that assessment.
The September framework gives storage a defined role for the auction’s solar and wind participants while keeping network arrangements central to the buyer’s electricity cost. Its effect on an individual project depends on eligibility, contracts, applicable charges and engineering. It does not promise a particular reduction in bills or uninterrupted supply.