Peak Hours and Solar: Using Your Battery to Avoid Peak Rates

This guide covers who is on peak billing, the current timings, how to set a hybrid inverter to cover them, and how net billing changes the decision.

Are you on a peak and off-peak tariff?

Check your bill. If it shows separate peak and off-peak readings, you are on TOU billing. Our guide on how to read your electricity bill shows where they appear.

As a rule of thumb for the ex-WAPDA DISCOs, including LESCO and FESCO:

FESCO's published tariff schedule lists TOU categories for residential connections of 5 kW and above, commercial, industrial, bulk supply and agricultural users, and notes that smaller connections may opt in.

If you are not on TOU, there is no peak rate to avoid. Your battery is still useful for load-shedding and for using your own solar at night, but the timing advice below matters less. For how slab rates, fixed charges and adjustments work, see our electricity tariff 2026 guide.

Diagram

Peak hours and battery

Off-peak

Charge from solar

Peak

Run the house from battery

Current peak hours for LESCO and FESCO

The peak window for the ex-WAPDA DISCOs is set in NEPRA's tariff terms and is reported as:

Source: published summaries of the NEPRA tariff terms (see Sources).

So in mid-October, peak runs from about 6 PM to 10 PM. Sunset in Punjab is already close to 6 PM, so almost the whole window falls after the panels stop producing.

Two points to keep in mind:

• The timings have been under review. In 2025 NEPRA asked DISCOs to study whether TOU windows still match real demand now that rooftop solar has changed the daily load curve. Reports in October 2026 found no decision changing them.
• Peak hours and load-shedding can overlap. In April 2026 the Power Division announced a plan for scheduled outages of about two and a quarter hours a day during peak demand, to limit tariff increases from costly fuel. A battery that is reserved for the peak window also covers those outages.

How a battery avoids peak units

The idea is simple:

1. During the day, solar runs your home and charges the battery.
2. Before the peak window, the inverter keeps the battery charged rather than using it up in the late afternoon.
3. During peak hours, the battery supplies your home, so you import few or no peak units.
4. After peak, the house returns to the grid (off-peak rate) or continues on battery if there is charge left.

The battery has to be big enough for your load across the whole four-hour window, and the inverter has to be able to deliver that load. Our battery sizing guide and kW vs kWh explained help with both.

Example arithmetic, with round illustrative numbers

Suppose your evening load during peak hours averages about 2 kW: fans, lights, a fridge and one inverter AC. Over a 4-hour window that is about 8 kWh. Allowing for losses and a reserve, a battery with roughly 10 kWh usable would cover it on a clear day.

Now suppose, purely as an example, that peak units cost Rs 55 and off-peak units Rs 45. Covering 8 peak units from solar stored in the battery avoids about 8 × 55 = Rs 440 that evening. If instead the battery were allowed to run down in the late afternoon, those 8 units would be bought from the grid in the peak window at the higher rate, and the stored solar would only have displaced cheaper units.

These rates are invented for illustration and are not current tariffs. Use the rates on your own bill.

Setting the inverter for peak hours

Most hybrid inverters we supply offer some form of time-based control, though the menus differ by brand. Common settings:

• Time-of-use or "time slot" discharge. You set the peak window, and the inverter discharges the battery only in that slot.
• Battery reserve or "backup SOC". The battery keeps a minimum charge outside the peak window, so it is not empty when peak starts.
• Output priority. SBU mode uses the battery whenever solar is short, which can drain it in the late afternoon before peak begins. Timed settings or a higher reserve avoid that. Our guide to SBU, SUB and utility-first modes explains these.
• Seasonal update. Because the window moves four times a year, the time slot should be updated in December, March, June and September.

Settings should be changed by your installer, because the wrong combination can leave you without backup in load-shedding or cycle the battery harder than necessary.

Peak hours under net billing

Under net billing, the units you import are charged at your normal tariff and the units you export are credited at a much lower rate, reported at about Rs 10-11 per unit when the rules were notified. See our net metering and net billing guide for the rules.

That changes the value of surplus midday solar:

• Exporting it earns the low export credit.
• Storing it and using it in peak hours avoids a peak-rate unit.

On a TOU connection under net billing, the gap between those two is the main reason batteries have become more attractive. It is also why we size systems for self-use first; see sizing your solar system under net billing.

If your connection is still on an older net metering agreement, the comparison is different, because exported units were offset against imported units. Ask your installer to look at your actual bills before changing settings.

What about charging the battery from the grid off-peak?

Some owners fill the battery with cheaper off-peak grid units at night and use it in the next peak window. That only pays if the off-peak rate, after battery round-trip losses, is clearly below the peak rate, and it adds a battery cycle. Our guide should you charge your solar battery from the grid at night? works through the arithmetic. For most homes with enough solar, charging from the sun is the better plan.

Moving loads out of peak hours

A battery is not the only tool. Before buying a larger battery, look at what runs in the peak window:

• Run the washing machine, iron and water motor in solar hours.
• Pre-cool rooms in the afternoon so the AC works less after sunset.
• Avoid running an electric geyser or oven in the peak window.

Our solar load management guide covers this in detail. A smaller peak load means a smaller battery can cover the whole window.

Factories and commercial sites

For industrial connections, peak-rate units are only part of the picture. Maximum demand (MDI) charges and power quality also affect the bill, and a battery can sometimes be sized to reduce evening peak demand as well as peak units. See what is MDI on your electricity bill and battery storage (BESS) for factories. We design BESS with Luminey and current Huawei and Sungrow options equipment, chosen per site after reviewing a year of bills and load data.

How Solar Works Pakistan plans for peak hours

At the free site survey we read your bill with you: peak and off-peak units, sanctioned load, and whether you are on net billing or an older net metering agreement. Our in-house engineers then size the panels, battery and inverter together, and our own team sets the time-based battery settings at commissioning and explains them at handover. Current battery options are on our lithium battery price page.

Get today's price or a free site survey

Send us photos of your last 12 months of bills, showing peak and off-peak units, and we will tell you how much of the peak window a battery could cover.

• WhatsApp or call: 0336 666 4321
• Email: info@solarworks.pk
• Head office: Main Boulevard, Sargodha Rd, Block F FDA City, Faisalabad
• Lahore branch: 2nd Floor, Jeff Heights, Gulberg, Lahore
• Hours: 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, daily

We serve customers throughout Punjab. See our Faisalabad and Lahore pages, or contact us.

Frequently asked questions

What are the peak hours for LESCO and FESCO?

As reported from NEPRA's tariff terms, peak is 5 PM to 9 PM from December to February, 6 PM to 10 PM from March to May, 7 PM to 11 PM from June to August, and 6 PM to 10 PM from September to November. Confirm the timings on your own bill, as they have been under review.

Who pays peak rates?

Connections on a time-of-use tariff. For homes this normally means a sanctioned load of 5 kW or more; most industrial connections and many larger commercial connections are also on TOU. Your bill shows separate peak and off-peak units if you are.

Can solar panels reduce my peak units without a battery?

Very little. Peak hours are in the evening, when panels produce almost nothing. Without a battery, the main option is moving loads into daytime.

How big a battery do I need to cover peak hours?

Multiply your average evening load by the four peak hours, then add a margin for losses and a reserve. For example, 2 kW for four hours is about 8 kWh before margin; your own figure depends on your loads.

Do I need to change the inverter settings every season?

If the inverter uses a fixed time slot for discharge, yes. The peak window moves in December, March, June and September, so the slot should follow it.

Is it worth charging my battery from the grid off-peak to use in peak hours?

Only if the off-peak rate, after battery losses, is clearly lower than the peak rate. For most solar homes, charging from the sun is better.

Sources

1. Pakera, "Electricity peak hours in Pakistan 2026: timings and rates" (checked 9 Oct 2026; cites NEPRA tariff terms and the LESCO decision of 23 June 2025): https://pakera.pk/electricity-peak-hours-pakistan/
2. Bijli Bills, "Electricity peak hours in Pakistan: seasonal timings" (Aug 2026; cites the NEPRA LESCO tariff determination): https://bijlibills.com/electricity-peak-hours-pakistan/
3. FESCO, electricity tariff page (TOU categories, 5 kW and above residential)
4. Daily Pakistan, "Peak electricity hours cut to 11pm" (21 Aug 2025)
5. Arab News, "Pakistan plans peak-hour power cuts to curb tariff spike" (14 Apr 2026)

Net-billing facts restate article #04 (English net billing guide), which carries the full source list.