India’s data centre expansion offers Pakistan an early lesson in planning reliable power, protecting water supplies and sharing infrastructure costs fairly.
Pakistan should require a credible electricity and water plan before approving major AI data-centre projects.
Grid capacity should be reserved against verified demand, financing and construction milestones, with clear expiry dates. This would give serious investors certainty while protecting households and businesses from paying for infrastructure promised to projects that never materialise.
Recent reporting in The Week, dated September 26, examines India’s expanding data-centre ambitions and the accompanying pressures on power supply, transmission and water. The lesson for Pakistan is timely: decisions about where computing facilities are built are also decisions about where electricity networks must grow. Pakistan can address these questions early, while it still has choices over location, scale and sequencing.
Pakistan Has Already Raised the Stakes
The question is already relevant at home. Reuters reported on May 25, 2025, that Pakistan announced an allocation of 2,000 megawatts for bitcoin mining and AI data centres. That announcement covered both activities; it was not evidence that 2,000 MW of AI facilities were operating. It nevertheless shows why computing ambitions should be assessed alongside the physical requirements of electricity supply.
India offers a useful indication of how quickly demand can grow. A February 2026 white paper by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water and SYSTEMIQ reports almost 1.5 GW of installed data-centre capacity by mid-2025 and cites projections of 4.5–6.5 GW by 2030. These are estimates for India, not a forecast for Pakistan. They underline the importance of making siting, cooling and power-supply decisions before large projects create infrastructure commitments lasting many years.
AI infrastructure offers real opportunities. Domestic computing capacity can support researchers, software companies and public services, and reduce some dependence on overseas hosting. Pakistan’s government has confirmed approval of the National AI Policy 2025. Turning ambition into useful services, however, requires more than procuring servers or announcing investment. It requires electricity that reaches the right place, at the right quality, throughout the day.
The Scale Behind the Servers
The International Energy Agency’s 2025 Energy and AI report projects global data-centre electricity consumption to more than double to around 945 terawatt-hours by 2030. That forecast covers data centres generally, with AI an important driver. It is a global projection, not an estimate of Pakistan’s future demand. The relevant warning is that concentrated loads can create local bottlenecks even when their share of national electricity consumption appears modest.
Consider the scale. A cluster drawing one gigawatt continuously would consume 8.76 terawatt-hours in a year, calculated as one gigawatt multiplied by 8,760 hours. This is an illustration, not a claim that Pakistan has such a project approved. A developer’s advertised capacity may describe computing equipment, an eventual campus build-out or total facility demand. Authorities must establish which definition applies, including cooling and electrical losses, before making commitments.
Surplus Power Must Reach the Right Place
The first approval question should therefore be where and when the load can be served. Claims of surplus electricity require the same scrutiny: power available nationally or at certain hours may not be deliverable to the chosen site throughout the day. National generation capacity alone does not demonstrate that a particular substation can supply a large new connection reliably. The responsible network operator should assess transformer capacity, transmission constraints, voltage performance and credible equipment failures.
Developers should disclose phased demand forecasts and expected operating patterns so that network investment follows realistic commissioning schedules.
Reserve Capacity with Clear Conditions
Reserving capacity can help a genuine project proceed. An indefinite reservation for an unfinanced proposal can also prevent other businesses from obtaining connections. Pakistan should use time-bound agreements supported by financial security, defined delivery milestones and transparent cancellation rules. As a project expands, each phase should receive capacity only when the corresponding infrastructure and commercial commitments are ready.
Who Pays for the Upgrades?
The second question is who pays. Connection agreements should identify the assets required primarily for the project, how their costs will be recovered and who bears the risk if demand arrives late or falls short.
Shared investments may benefit other consumers, but those benefits should be demonstrated. A large electricity buyer should not receive a subsidy hidden in ordinary consumers’ bills. Clear rules would also help investors compare sites and avoid unexpected charges.
Clean Power Needs an Hourly Plan
Renewable supply belongs in this plan, but annual energy totals are insufficient. Buying enough solar electricity over a year does not guarantee power on a hot evening. Developers should explain how renewable generation, storage, grid supply and backup arrangements work together hour by hour.
Developers should be encouraged to bring additional clean generation and clearly specified storage. Batteries can bridge interruptions and shift energy, but their power rating, duration and recharge requirements matter. Any promised grid support should be tested, contracted and compatible with the facility’s reliability obligations.
Cooling Must Fit Local Water Supplies
Water deserves an equally specific assessment. Cooling technologies differ, so claims that every data centre consumes the same quantity of water are misleading. Recirculating liquid inside a building does not, by itself, establish how much water the complete heat-rejection system consumes.
Approvals should disclose the water source, seasonal requirements, treatment arrangements and performance during extreme heat. Dry or hybrid cooling and suitably treated wastewater should be evaluated where feasible, alongside their energy and operating trade-offs.
Choose Sites Before Committing Resources
Pakistan should favour sites where reliable power, suitable water arrangements, fibre connectivity and manageable flood and heat risks coincide. Choosing land first and resolving utilities afterwards can turn an attractive investment announcement into an expensive infrastructure problem.
A coordinated review involving digital authorities, network operators and the relevant environmental and water bodies would allow credible proposals to advance with fewer surprises.
Measure Performance and Public Value
Approval should also carry continuing obligations. Operators should report actual facility demand, energy use, water withdrawals and consumption, and the share of electricity supplied through different sources. Public reporting can use aggregated figures that protect legitimate commercial and security interests.
Efficiency should be assessed alongside absolute resource use: an efficient facility can still place substantial demand on a constrained local system.
Finally, Pakistan should judge projects by the services and capabilities they create. Affordable computing access for universities and local firms, skilled technical work and dependable digital services deserve attention alongside headline investment figures. These outcomes should be stated clearly rather than assumed from the size of a building or its electricity connection.
India’s debate gives Pakistan an opportunity to prepare. The country should welcome credible AI investment through approvals that align computing demand with deliverable power, fair cost allocation and responsible water use. Planning substations, transmission, renewable supply and storage before construction will be more useful than discovering their absence after the servers arrive.
Pakistan’s AI ambition needs an infrastructure plan that can be built and paid for.
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