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Pakistan's 46,275 MW fleet still leans on thermal generation — around 42 % of energy — while hydropower supplies roughly 11,864 MW, close to a quarter of total capacity. Against an identified potential of about 60,000 MW gross and roughly 41,000 MW technically and economically viable, near-term procurement is dominated by four large schemes now under construction, alongside a long tail of low-head sites on the Punjab canal network.
| Electricity access (WDI) | 95.6 % (2023) |
| Installed capacity | 46,275 MW national total; ~11,864 MW hydropower (Power Division, June 2026) |
| Hydropower potential | ~60,000 MW gross; ~41,045 MW technically and economically viable (WAPDA) |
| Utility / grid operator | NTDC (transmission) · WAPDA (hydropower development) · NEPRA (regulator) |
| Key fact | Hydropower ~24 % of installed capacity, thermal ~42 % of energy; annual energy import bill about USD 12 billion |
Data: World Bank World Development Indicators (EG.ELC.ACCS.ZS, 2023), CC BY 4.0 · IHA country profiles · Power Division / NEPRA.
The pipeline splits by head. Large, high-capacity schemes use Francis machines — Dasu Stage-I alone calls for six 360 MW Francis turbines — while the Punjab canal network holds roughly 350 MW of low-head potential better suited to Kaplan and tubular (bulb) units, which pass large flows at heads often under 10 m. Kaplan's adjustable runner blades also hold efficiency across the seasonal flow swings typical of irrigation canals. Few markets run gigawatt-scale Francis procurement and sub-10 m canal schemes inside the same cycle; Pakistan does.
Pakistan also has one of the most mature Chinese engineering-contracting ecosystems outside China: Diamer-Bhasha is being built by a joint venture of China Power and the Frontier Works Organisation, and Dasu Stage-I is being delivered by a GE Renewable Energy and PowerChina Zhongnan consortium. In practice that lowers the qualification barrier for Chinese-manufactured electro-mechanical equipment. TCH HYDRO scope: turbine and generator supply. Auxiliary systems are assembled with our manufacturing partners and executed on site with HIER.