1.1 Background
Around the globe, the infrastructure of renewable power systems is spreading at a very rapid rate to fulfill the existing and rising power demand in the domestic, commercial, and industrial sectors. Renewable sources of energy such as solar energy are accepted globally for maintaining a supply of clean, inexhaustible, and reliable electricity with a premium feature of supplementary economic prospect plus providing electricity at reduced cost through enhanced two-way billing system such as net metering.
In India, the first state to avail mechanism of net metering is Maharashtra and, in this state, the first bi-directional meters were installed by Tata power company in Guardian Industries Limited. Then solar net metering systems of different capacities were installed at Vatic-Nagar. Different projects were also effectively undertaken by Rooftop Georgia Company in Karnataka where solar radiations are very accessible for longer durations on regular basis. In Gujarat, they have teamed up to set up a 5 MW of power through the solar-powered net metering scheme and its subdivision would distribute 1 MW to the residential society and 4 MW in the government buildings.
In Pakistan, K-Electric Ltd (formerly known as Karachi Electric Supply Corporation or KESC) was established in 1913. When new management, led by The Abraaj Group took over KESC in 2009, it proved to be the advent of a new era for the organization and Karachi. Value creation was introduced at every level of operations, including environmental, social, and governance policies such as the first corporate entity to enter Karachi in the WWF city challenge against its Climate Change policy in the year 2016 and Social Investment Program (SIP) benefits 4.9 million people annually by supporting 16 philanthropic institutions and NGOs in the areas of health and education (ke.com.pk/sustainability/esg-sustainability-management/). 61% of the city is load-shedding free and since 2009 the transmission and distribution losses have decreased by 13.7% (ke.com.pk/our-company/our-journey/). The leadership is driven by its environmental, social, and governance value creation philosophy, energy conservation, and social empowerment programs. KESC was rebranded as a revived entity with a positive outlook and the ability to bring about sustainable change, therefore, K-Electric Ltd (KE) was born. Currently, KE is providing electricity to over 2.5 million customers across Karachi. The people of Karachi are always looking for uninterrupted and affordable power utilities. With the growth of the city, many rural and old areas of Karachi are being re-developed, this growth is simultaneously increasing the demand for uninterrupted electric supply. KE produces electricity from its generation units with an installed capacity of approximately 2,350 Mega Watt (MW) and in addition, has an arrangement with external power producers for around 1,360 MW including 600 MW from National Grid (ke.com.pk) while power demand is between 2,700 to 2,900 megawatt during the summer and during a heatwave, the demand jumps to over 3,300 MW (tribune.com.pk/).
K-Electric Ltd has recently initiated a new venture called K-Solar (a solar power solutions subsidiary of K-Electric) in which an on-grid solar supply system is provided with net metering. Domestic on-grid solar power is one of the best solutions to get an uninterrupted power supply along with a low-cost tariff and sell it back to KE via the two-way metering system. In the case of an off-grid system, a consumer can get the maximum electric power and save the un-utilized energy back in their battery bank for later use. Thus, the installation of solar power will be useful for both consumers as well as the power utility sector due to the buyback of cheap electricity and its resale. Starting in Karachi, K-Solar promises convenience, dependability, cost-effectiveness, and durability for the growing commercial sector, comprising banks, retail outlets, educational institutions, healthcare organizations, etc. K-Solar will provide sustainable and long-term solar solutions that will allow for seamless function, thereby allowing them to continue their contributions to the economy and society. Also, K-Solar teams will work with its industrial partners to enable them to reduce energy costs, increase energy independence and as a result, enhance productivity through uninterrupted power supply from the most technologically advanced solar power solutions (www.k-solar.com.pk).