Karachi Industrialists Propose Solar-Powered Charity Model to Aid Poor

Karachi industrialists and financial leaders have proposed a new not-for-profit solar power framework that aims to divert surplus solar energy to low-income and deserving households, potentially reducing government subsidy burdens and easing pressure on industrial tariffs.

The proposal, called the Social Net-Metering Unit Donation Framework (SNUDA), was originally developed by business leader and former Karachi Stock Exchange managing director Moin M. Fudda and is now being championed by the Korangi Association of Trade and Industry as a way to integrate solar generation with social support.

Under SNUDA, solar installations that generate excess electricity,  particularly from commercial and industrial rooftops would feed that surplus into a designated charity-oriented pool. The energy would then be allocated to poor and deserving consumers, leveraging the existing net-metering infrastructure to enable energy sharing without additional cost to the grid.

Proponents say the model could reduce the subsidy burden on the government, help lower industrial tariffs by reducing cross-subsidy pressures, and improve recoveries while cutting distribution losses for power companies. Industrialists told Dawn that harnessing unused solar generation for social benefit aligns economic efficiency with social impact at a time when energy costs remain high.

The concept comes at a time when rooftop and commercial solar adoption in Pakistan has been rising as industries seek lower-cost energy alternatives due to costly conventional power, and solar already accounts for a growing share of distributed generation in the country.

Supporters of the framework say it could complement existing energy policies while helping industrial consumers meet environmental goals and contribute to energy equity  by turning excess clean power into a social asset rather than letting it remain unused.