Pakistan and India set 10% BESS requirements for new renewable capacity

Pakistan’s power regulator, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra), has authorized the government to make a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) mandatory under the upcoming auction for 800 MW of renewable capacity, covering both wind and solar projects (Nepra statement, 04/09/2026). Under Nepra’s decision, bidders planning to deploy solar and/or wind generation technologies will only qualify if the firm capacity of their BESS, installed at the generation site, amounts to at least 10% of the facility’s firm capacity.

According to the document, bidders can deploy storage capacity beyond this minimum in order to enhance their financial returns. ISMO, the independent system and market operator, carried out financial modelling showing that returns increase as installed BESS capacity rises. The analysis found that a “substantial part of the modelled economic benefit” is captured at 10%, “whereas a higher mandatory threshold would increase upfront cost and implementation risk and may discourage participation, including by smaller participants”, the document said.

Meanwhile, India plans to require two-hour battery storage equivalent to at least 10% of capacity for all new solar and onshore wind projects commissioned after 1 July 2027, according to draft regulations issued by the country’s Central Electricity Authority. The requirement is set to become more stringent from July 2029, when the minimum storage duration would rise to four hours, while the 10% capacity requirement would remain unchanged. India, the world’s third-largest solar power generator, curtailed nearly 14% of its solar power output between April and June 2026 due to surplus clean energy during daytime hours and insufficient transmission infrastructure to transport the power, Reuters reported.