PESHAWAR: Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organization (PEDO), a subsidiary of Department of Energy and Power KP, is working hard to generate affordable hydropower in the province. It is the largest revenue generating agency with annual revenue of over Rs5 billion, which is currently generating 161MW of cheap electricity that will be increased to 224MW next year, according to an official communiqué issued here on Sunday.
In this regard, the annual revenue is expected to increase from about Rs5 billion to Rs10 billion.
New employment opportunities are being created in the province for the development of the industrial sector by generating cheap electricity through the wheeling model and selling it at cheap rates.
Syed Imtiaz Hussain Shah addressed the review meeting on ongoing energy projects of PEDO. It was mentioned that after the successful transfer of the CM House and Secretariat, as well as civil secretariat, to the solar system, additional power generation through net metering is saving millions of rupees in terms of electricity bills.
In the province 4440 mosques, 8000 schools and 187 basic health units (BHUs) are also being shifted to the solar system while 13 solar mini-grids are being constructed to promote commercial activities in newly merged districts.
In addition to this, 302 mini micro-hydel stations have been completed in the backward areas of the province that are deprived of the blessings of electricity. About 29MW of cheap electricity is being provided to the poor people at the village level.
Koto hydropower project 40.8MW Dir Lower, Karora power project Shangla 11.8MW and 10.2MW Jabori power project Mansehra are in the final stages of completion.
On the other hand, the construction work is going on in full swing on other ongoing projects of PEDO including 84MW Matiltan power project Swat, 69MW Lawi power project Chitral, 6.9MW Brando power project Torgarh and 10.5MW Chapri Charkhel power project Karam.
The World Bank’s financial assisted projects at district swat, construction work on Gabral Kalam HPP of 88MW and Madyen HPP of 157MW is also being started soon.
During the meeting, Secretary Energy Syed Imtiaz Hussain Shah expressed satisfaction over the progress made on the ongoing projects of PEDO and hoped that the completion of ongoing projects would prove to be a game changer for overcoming power crisis and stabilising the economy.
PEDO would emerge soon as mini WAPDA in KP owing to its fast-track progress in the power generation sector.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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