Landslides strand solar panels as G-B subsidy scheme lags

Two trucks loaded with solar panels have stood on the Karakoram Highway near Chilas for 24 hours after a landslide blocked the road, the Express Tribune reported, holding up equipment for a household solar programme in Gilgit-Baltistan.

A second landslide in Ghizer district crashed into a water channel feeding a hydel powerhouse that supplies Gilgit, according to the same report.

Solar equipment moves north from Rawalpindi along the Karakoram Highway, and Babusar Top closes in winter, removing the seasonal alternative route.

The report said rains in 2025 caused more than Rs20 billion in losses across seven districts, and that local estimates including agricultural losses and damage to power infrastructure put the figure closer to Rs30 billion.

Hydropower remains the region's main source. The combined capacity of its 46 stations rose from 17.18 MW in 2009 to 65.319 MW in 2025, the report said, and with it the infrastructure exposed to floods, landslides and glacial lake outburst floods. Floods in May 2022 submerged two hydropower projects, and a GLOF from Shishper in 2025 damaged infrastructure and disrupted supply in Hassanabad.

In March 2026 the federal government allocated 58 MW of solar capacity for Gilgit-Baltistan, 40 MW for domestic consumers and 18 MW for small businesses and IT use. A separate initiative has proposed 100 MW of solarisation.

The free panel scheme has moved slower. The government intended to reach nearly 148,000 households. Balloting selected 15,733, of which 12,008 families collected their units and 3,725 left the panels in warehouses.

Officials told the Express Tribune that additional costs discouraged people from collecting or installing the equipment. A panel needs an inverter, battery, wiring, mounting structure, transport and installation, which can add Rs90,000 to more than Rs180,000 depending on the system and location.

"We went to buy the panel. They said it is free, but we have to buy the battery and inverter from the market. They asked for Rs150,000. We came back. How can we pay that?" a beneficiary in Gilgit told the paper, with the plates lying in his lawn.

Shamim Ara described winter outages of up to 20 hours a day and said solar cut her daytime costs. Muhammad Saleem installed a 3.5-kilowatt system and reported a steadier supply of light. Irfan Karim said his children could study without waiting for the power schedule.

The Aga Khan Rural Support Programme says it designs installations around the actual load of a household or business, storage included. "A panel without a battery is not a solution for GB, especially in winter evenings," an AKRSP programme officer told the paper.

AKRSP now targets 130 widow-headed households in Gilgit and 300 local enterprises and institutions, and has installed more than 60 solar lift irrigation systems and over 500 passive solar greenhouses in Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral. Since 1982 it has supported 169 micro and mini hydropower projects with 18.6 MW of functional capacity.

A women-led fitness studio in Skardu runs a 4-kilowatt system with battery storage installed with AKRSP support. Its owner said evening classes used to be cancelled during outages and are not now.

The €54.24 million Gilgit-Baltistan Rural Development and Climate Resilience Project, run by the regional government with the European Union, Agence Française de Développement and the Aga Khan Foundation, is expected to cover all districts, reach about 43,200 households and keep women at no less than 40 per cent of beneficiaries.