How Pakistan Is Using AI Data Centres to Turn Surplus Electricity Into Opportunity

In Pakistan's power grids, when the sun dips low or demand drops, there lies a quiet truth "" many power plants and generation facilities produce more electricity than is being used. This surplus, once a burden, is now being seen as a chance. The government is turning this idle power into engines of innovation: AI data centres, bitcoin mining, and digital infrastructure. But is this path golden, risky, or somewhere in between?

What Has Pakistan Announced / Underway

Here are the key steps the government has already taken:

• Allocation of 2,000 MW of electricity for Bitcoin mining & AI data centres: In late May 2025, the Finance Ministry and Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC) revealed a plan to dedicate 2,000 megawatts (MW) from surplus electricity for these operations. (Cointelegraph, Dawn, The News International)
• Creation of Pakistan Crypto Council: A government-backed body under the Ministry of Finance, established to regulate blockchain, crypto assets, AI data centres etc. Bilal Bin Saqib leads PCC. (Dawn, The News International)
• Incentives being considered: To attract investment, the government is discussing tax holidays, customs duty exemptions on equipment, and favorable electricity tariffs (marginal cost pricing) for AI/data centre ventures. (Cointelegraph, Dawn, Pakistan Today)
• Power sector has existing surplus: Pakistan reportedly has about 7,000 MW of under-utilized generation capacity. Utilizing even a portion can help reduce wasted capacity payments or inefficiencies. (The News International, Dawn, The News International)
• Marginal cost of surplus power has been identified: Government figures suggest cost around Rs 24 per unit (kWh) for marginal surplus electricity. This is relatively low but still higher than rates in some jurisdictions for similar operations. There are proposals to subsidize for AI/crypto firms or use special purpose vehicles to buy power from distribution companies (Discos) at marginal cost and pass benefits via profit sharing. (The News International, Dawn, Dawn)

Why This Makes Sense: Opportunities

Turning surplus electricity into a revenue stream through AI/data centres/crypto mining offers multiple possible benefits:

• Economical use of idle power Idle generation capacity is a cost burden: maintenance, fuel, capacity payments. If that unused capacity can be put to work, the fixed costs (and some variable ones) can generate returns rather than loss.
• Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) & job creation Big players in AI or crypto infra often bring capital, technology, skills. The government hopes to attract investors, create high-tech jobs, training, related services. (Dawn)
• Digital infrastructure & data sovereignty Building AI data centres locally helps reduce dependency on foreign infra, lowers latency, enhances data security. For services like cloud, AI model training, storage, being closer to users yields advantages.
• Exporting digital services Instead of exporting physical goods only, Pakistan can "export" compute power, data storage services, AI inference, mining. That translates (in many proposals) into USD revenues, not just rupees. Crypto-mining also potentially gives exposure to international cryptocurrency.
• Utilization of renewable and off-grid potential Some surplus power comes from solar, wind, or underused plants. There are ideas to pair these with computing services to make clean/green computing an exportable product. (The News International)

What Pakistan Might Lose or What Risks Are There

For every opportunity, there are risks. It's not yet a done deal; many trade-offs need clear management.

| Risk / Concern | Why It Matters in Pakistan's Context - | |--------------------------------- |-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------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| Energy supply stability | Pakistan has often faced load shedding and transmission losses; pushing power to data centres must not compromise residential, industrial supply. Regions with surplus may be remote; transmission and grid constraints matter. a better, tech-rich tomorrow.