The country’s digital ambitions need more than computing hardware and trained graduates. They need dependable power — from the freelancer’s desk to the data-centre substation.
Pakistan has an artificial intelligence policy. The harder question is whether it has an electricity plan capable of making that policy work.
The World Bank’s October 2026 regional assessment, From Divide to Opportunity: AI, Jobs, and Growth, describes Pakistan as a country with meaningful AI potential and important gaps in readiness.
Reporting on the assessment points to about 75,000 IT graduates annually and ICT services exports of roughly US$4.6 billion in FY2025–26. Pakistan’s AI ambitions include shared computing infrastructure, a sovereign multilingual model, postgraduate scholarships and wider AI training.
But talent and policy targets can only deliver if the foundations — including electricity and connectivity — are available.
The electricity-access figure deserves careful interpretation. World Bank data report access for 95.7 per cent of Pakistan’s population in 2024. That indicator measures whether people have an electricity connection; it does not certify continuity, affordability or industrial-grade power quality.
A freelancer using cloud-based AI needs a dependable computer, internet and power at the last mile. A data centre or high-performance computing site adds concentrated demand that must be connected, cooled and kept available.
Two Electricity Challenges Sit Behind AI
Pakistan should distinguish between using AI and hosting the computing facilities that run it. Many companies can develop AI-enabled services using cloud computing outside Pakistan.
A teacher, clinic, manufacturer or farmer may benefit from a modest application without a domestic frontier-model training centre. The World Bank’s “small AI” approach — affordable, purpose-built tools that can work on basic devices, low-bandwidth connections and intermittent power — offers a practical route for public services and local businesses.
That is not an argument for postponing electricity improvements. Digital livelihoods still depend on working devices, broadband and reliable local supply.
And if Pakistan chooses to host substantial computing capacity, the planning challenge becomes more concentrated: servers, networking, cooling and backup systems must all be supplied.
A headline figure for national generation capacity, or an announced surplus, does not establish that a particular site can receive the required megawatts through a suitably strong substation and transmission corridor.
The International Energy Agency’s global outlook illustrates why planners should pay attention. It projects data-centre electricity use could roughly double to 945 terawatt-hours by 2030, with AI a major driver.
This is a global estimate, not a forecast for Pakistan. Its practical lesson is that computing loads can grow quickly and cluster in specific locations, while power networks take longer to plan and build.
Plan from the Grid Connection Outward
Pakistan’s National AI Policy already envisages a national AI compute grid, high-performance computing centres and industry-driven data centres. The next step is to connect those plans to electricity-system evidence.
Federal and provincial authorities, the IT ministry, the Power Division, NEPRA, grid and distribution operators, telecom providers and prospective investors should prepare a regularly updated map of credible digital demand and suitable locations.
For each proposed site, the map should show available substation capacity, transmission constraints, fibre routes, feasible network upgrades, cooling and water considerations, and the expected time and cost of connection.
Demand forecasts should distinguish funded projects from expressions of interest, show commissioning phases, and include low, central and high scenarios. That gives planners a more useful basis for investment than treating every announcement as a firm load.
Large computing facilities should undergo credible grid-impact studies before connection approval. Depending on the size and design of a facility, those studies should consider peak demand, rapid load changes, voltage performance, fault levels, protection coordination, backup arrangements and impacts on nearby customers.
Connection requirements should be proportionate: a small commercial server room does not need the same obligations as a large AI campus.
Developers should provide realistic load profiles and expansion plans, while utilities should give clear connection timelines and state who pays for dedicated upgrades.
Reliable Power, Fair Prices and Cleaner Supply
Renewable energy can strengthen Pakistan’s offer to digital investors, but buying renewable electricity is not the same as ensuring power is physically available every hour.
A renewable contract describes procurement; operational resilience also depends on the grid, storage, backup resources and controls. Solar and wind should therefore be assessed alongside network capability, batteries sized for a defined service, efficient cooling and a credible plan for low-renewable periods.
On-site diesel backup may have a resilience role, but it should not become the default substitute for a dependable network.
Efficiency and resource use should be visible in project decisions. Malaysia’s data-centre guidance, for example, uses measures such as power usage effectiveness and water usage effectiveness, and links sustainability criteria to investment incentives.
Pakistan can adapt the principle without copying another country’s thresholds. Projects seeking public incentives or publicly funded network upgrades should disclose energy use, cooling and water needs, backup arrangements, emissions and connection costs.
Performance should be checked after commissioning, not accepted solely on the basis of a design-stage promise.
Pricing also matters. The objective should be cost-reflective, transparent contracts that account for energy, network upgrades and reliability.
If a facility can shift non-urgent computing to hours when the system has spare capacity, a voluntary and clearly defined flexible connection may reduce costs. Essential services should not be assumed to be interruptible.
Public support should be linked to credible delivery and measurable benefits, while project-specific costs should not be quietly transferred to households or small businesses.
A Practical Electricity Chapter for AI
An AI electricity roadmap should answer six questions.
How much new digital demand is credible, and when will it arrive? Where can the grid serve it without weakening supply to existing users? What transmission, substation and distribution work is required, and on what schedule?
Which technical connection standards will apply to large, high-density or flexible loads? How will renewable power, storage, cooling and backup be combined? And how will connection costs, public incentives and access to shared computing be allocated fairly?
The roadmap should have a public timetable and annual scorecard covering connection lead times, commissioned capacity, network costs, reliability, efficiency and any public support.
It should also include pilots for university, software-export and small-business clusters, reporting outage frequency and duration, voltage performance, affordability and business continuity.
The aim is transferable improvements in service, not permanent preferential treatment for a few locations.
Pakistan does not need to match another country’s GPU count or build a speculative computing boom in advance. It needs forecasts tied to real projects, transparent grid data, bankable connection rules, targeted network reinforcement and efficient, flexible loads.
The same stronger grid would help AI users across the country and make well-sited computing investment more credible.
AI policy rightly covers skills, data, ethics and innovation. Pakistan should connect those priorities to the electricity system that keeps people and computing online.
The test is not the number of megawatts announced; it is whether a graduate can work reliably, an exporter can serve international clients, and a computing facility can operate without imposing unreasonable costs on everyone else.
The writer can be reached at habib_rahman_habib786@yahoo.com.
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