PITC at MWC 2026: How AI is Powering Pakistan's Grid

At MWC 2026 in Barcelona, digital transformation dominated discussions across industries – and energy was no exception.

For Pakistan, the change is not just about connectivity or convenience but about strengthening national power stability.

Muhammad Kashif Shahzad is CEO of Power Information Technology Company (PITC), one of Pakistan’s 26 power sector entities.

The company provides IT services and technology solutions that are helping digitise and modernise the country’s public energy infrastructure.

And, as part of the Ministry of Energy’s Power Division, PITC has become a crucial component of the digital backbone supporting Pakistan’s electricity ecosystem.

The firm’s advanced payment platforms – particularly its intelligent billing technologies – have been central to its growth, improving transparency, efficiency and data-driven management across the national grid.

“Most of the IT solutions that we have developed so far include the billing system – it’s an indigenous solution we have built, and it runs the billing of 35 million active consumers per month,” Dr Kashif says”

But PITC’s digital platform goes far beyond billing.

The company has developed an integrated CRM and consumer e‑services hub that digitises the full customer journey – from reporting technical faults to submitting new service requests – creating a more connected and efficient energy experience.

“We have also implemented AMI – automated metering infrastructure – and we provide the Ministry of Energy and other stakeholders with monitoring of the power sector, the financial health of the power sector,” Dr Kashif says. 

“This helps them to perform modelling and simulation to carry out sensitivity analysis of policies the government is considering implementing for the people of Pakistan.”

Moving toward smart grids and DER integration

With renewable penetration rising across the grid, effective management of distributed energy resources (DERs) is becoming critical, Dr Kashif notes.

“Pakistan’s target is to have 30% DER integration,” he says.

“The problem we are facing is reverse energy flow, which destabilises the national grid and can lead to a cascade shutdown of the system for security reasons.”

At MWC, Dr Kashif’s key takeaway was identifying what lessons Pakistan can draw from global peers to accelerate its energy-tech transformation.

He continues: “What we have learned from our peers is how to carry out feeder switching with load in real time. Our AI projections allow us to predict when demand increases, so we can increase generation accordingly.

“And when there is more energy going back into the system from DERs rather than being consumed, we can facilitate that exchange among households. 

“Ultimately, this means moving towards smart grids and micro-grids at the transformer level.”

Learning lessons from China’s digital energy journey

China partnerships have fast-tracked this energy-tech evolution.

“With China, we have sought their help to understand how they achieved that digital transformation,” Dr Kashif says.

“They adopted automated metering infrastructure, which is the basic backbone. Data is at the foundation of everything, including all AI-driven solutions.”

This journey began in 2007 and, by 2015, China had standardised the technology and deployed AMI metering infrastructure at national scale.

Dr Kashif adds: “What we have learned from them covers several steps: Number one is standardisation, two is cybersecurity, and then third is moving towards digital transformation – the AI layer – in order to build an automated business.”

To keep advancing knowledge from China and implement it across Pakistan, Dr Kashif is eager to harness the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC – but with ambitions that extend beyond physical infrastructure.

“At present, CPEC is primarily focused on manufacturing and construction, including road infrastructure to cut transport fuel costs,” he says. 

“But if CPEC were also intended to deliver more technology-oriented joint projects with the Chinese government, that would be very valuable – the reason being that China’s utility sector is entirely state-owned, which is exactly the same model as Pakistan’s. 

“So if, under CPEC, we could have knowledge-sharing workshops to exchange ideas specific to the energy sector, that would be more targeted and productive than a general display of AI-driven or physical solutions.”

The balance between open data cybersecurity

That same dual focus now shapes Pakistan’s national energy-tech strategy.

Under the Ministry of Energy’s Power Division leadership, PITC is balancing open data ecosystems with enterprise-grade security protocols.

“The Minister of Energy has been very open on data,” Dr Kashif says.

“He has said that all research institutions, government agencies – whoever wants the data – we should provide it. Our open data sharing policy has already been implemented.”

For Pakistan’s state-run energy ecosystem, this policy aims to drive collaborative innovation while enforcing strict governance over critical infrastructure data.

He adds: “We not only provide them with access, but we also educate them on what the data means in order to enable meaningful analysis and decision-making.”

At the technical level, PITC has overhauled its cybersecurity architecture with enterprise-grade protection powered by Trend Micro.

“We have implemented a Trend Micro solution, which is a three-layered cybersecurity solution covering EDR, server security, and network security,” says Dr Kashif.

This integrated model delivers continuous monitoring and rapid threat response across all power sector entities.

He adds: “Whenever there is a cybersecurity threat it performs threat intelligence analysis, quarantines the traffic, records all changes made to our data and then presents us with the case after stopping the threat.

“We have also implemented a proper cybersecurity governance framework – not only technical controls but also 21 policies and procedures – which has been rolled out across all 26 power sector entities,” Dr Kashif added.

This dual approach – merging digital openness with multilayered cybersecurity – embodies Pakistan’s pragmatic strategy for a secure, intelligent energy grid.

It guarantees resilience as the nation scales AI integration and distributed energy systems amid intensifying global cyber threats.

Empowering SMEs through digital policy

PITC’s insights are driving more than grid modernisation – they’re shaping national economic policy at scale.

“In Pakistan, we have 65,000MW of generation capacity available, but we do not yet have the consumption to match it,” Dr Kashif says. 

“In order to increase uptake and help SMEs make their products competitive in international markets, the government is offering incentive packages.

“That means dividing the 24-hour day into four segments so that lower tariffs can be offered at certain times, encouraging higher consumption.”

This tariff segmentation boosts industrial activity while supporting software houses and export-driven industries.

He adds: “We are providing deep insight to the government on these kinds of policies, and the government is taking them into account to facilitate software houses and improve IT export figures.”

The government is prioritising manufacturing sector growth, partnering with chambers of commerce and SMEs to create dedicated industrial zones.

These tax-free zones offer preferential electricity tariffs to draw businesses establishing production lines or service centres, boosting industrial output and driving energy demand.