Before you buy solar in Pakistan

01 — The list

Twelve checks.

The "How" line under each one is the part most people skip. A check you cannot perform is not a check.

0 of 12 checked

1. They name the panel manufacturer and the exact model Not "we use good panels", not "Chinese or Indian". A model number. How: ask for the model. Then look at the serial number printed on the back of a module on site and check it on the manufacturer's own warranty registration page. 2. They name the inverter manufacturer and model The inverter is the component most likely to fail and the one with the shortest warranty. It is also where the biggest price differences hide. How: model number on the quotation, and the warranty length in years, in writing. 3. The quotation is itemised, not a single total Modules, inverter, structure, cable, switchgear, labour — separate lines with quantities. A single lump sum hides what you are actually paying for. How: ask for a written breakdown. If they say the price depends on the site, ask for a range in writing with what would change it. 4. The price is per watt, and you can check the arithmetic A system priced only per watt is being sold to you as a product rather than as a solution to your bill. How: panels are roughly Rs 42–47 per watt in 2026. Multiply by your kW. If the total is far below panels plus inverter plus installation, something is missing. 5. Nobody promises a zero bill Fixed charges still apply: roughly Rs 33 to Rs 35 per kW per month for a home, with monthly minimums, and Rs 2,000 a month on an agricultural connection at zero consumption. How: ask "will my bill be zero?" The honest answer names the fixed charges. 6. They have quoted under the current rules, not last year's Since 9 February 2026 the array cannot exceed your sanctioned load, and exported power earns about a quarter of your tariff. How: ask which regulation they are sizing to. The answer should be Regulation 3(2) of S.R.O. 251(I)/2026, and you can read it yourself online. 7. The advance is 30% or less, and the last third is after commissioning Anyone asking for 50–70% before installation has priced their risk into your deposit. How: ask for the payment structure in writing before you agree to anything. 8. You get an NTN invoice for every payment Cash only, or a receipt with no company name, is not automatically dishonest — but it must be disclosed, and it must be reflected in the contract price. How: ask whether the price is inclusive or exclusive of tax, and insist on the invoice. 9. Performance is a clause, not a conversation What happens if the system underperforms is written into the quotation, before any money moves. How: read the clause. If it does not exist, that is the most useful thing you can learn about them before you sign. 10. After-sales is a local number you can actually reach Not a national call centre, and not a number that appears only after the money has gone. How: ring it before you sign, and confirm the warranty terms of each component separately from the seller's own promise. 11. They do not use "Tier-1" as if it were a certification There is no standard Tier-1 certification in Pakistan. It is a marketing phrase used loosely across the market. How: press for the manufacturer and model instead. If the only answer is "Tier-1", that is the answer. 12. You have seen work that is running, not just photos A photo proves a camera was pointed at some panels. It does not prove who installed them, or that they work. How: ask for the address of a system the company installed and has been running for at least a year, then go and stand under it. Call the owner on the number printed on the inverter.

02 — Money

The structure we ask for, so you have something to compare against.

Common in this market

Advance50–100%
Paid before anything is deliveredShould be nothing, or only materials already on your roof
Final paymentOn the day of installation

What we ask for

Advance30%
Paid againstAn itemised quote and an NTN invoice
Second40% on delivery of equipment
Final 30%After commissioning and handover

What the final third is actually for. It is released only when the system has been shown to you working. That is the single most effective protection in this list, because it is the only point at which you can still walk away without losing everything.

03 — Applying it to us

Two places we do not come out cleanly.

A checklist you cannot run against yourself is marketing. Here is ours, point by point, including the two that we would rather you did not read.

Our answers to the twelve checks, as of 30 September 2026
#	Check	Our answer
1	Panel manufacturer and model	Named in writing on the quotation. We will not pre-commit to a brand here, because stock and pricing move and we would be quoting you something we cannot deliver.
2	Inverter manufacturer and model	Named in writing, with the warranty length in years. The inverter is where we will spend more of your money than most sellers do.
3	Itemised quotation	Yes. Modules, inverter, mounting structure, cable, switchgear and labour, separately.
4	Price per watt	We give you a total for your site, not a per-watt rate. A per-watt price hides the structure and cable work, which is where the differences actually are.
5	No zero-bill promise	Confirmed. We quote the fixed charges that will remain.
6	Quoted under current rules	Yes. Sized to your sanctioned load under Regulation 3(2), and we explain the export economics before you commit.
7	Advance 30% or less	30 / 40 / 30, as set out in section two.
8	NTN invoice	Every payment, against an invoice in the company's name.
9	Performance clause	In the quotation, before any money moves.
10	Local after-sales number	0347-4666664 and 0337-4666664. Faisalabad numbers, not a call centre. Ring them before you sign.
11	No "Tier-1"	Confirmed. We do not use the phrase about anything.
12	Running work to visit	Yes — and we go further: ask us for an address and call the owner yourself.

Disclosure one. For some time our social pages pointed at a domain that was never registered, and the email address on that domain could not receive mail. We have since published the email address FESCO lists for us in its register of certified installers. If you had tried to reach us before, that is why it failed.

Disclosure two. The AEDB certificate we can evidence expired on 8 June 2025, and the FESCO list was published in April 2026 with that date still showing. We print it as it stands. See our certification record for the full entry and what we can and cannot claim from it.

Run the list on us, then run it on the next quotation.

If you would rather compare three quotes than take ours, do that. Send all three back and we will tell you which one is wrong and why.

Send us three quotes See our certificate

Run this against us. Especially us.

Twelve checks.

The structure we ask for, so you have something to compare against.

Two places we do not come out cleanly.

Run the list on us, then run it on the next quotation.