Secretary Energy & Power Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Nisar Ahmad Khan said that Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organization (PEDO) has implemented various hydropower projects at a cost of Rs 9 billion and earned over Rs 32 billion profit so far.

Speaking at a high-level briefing, he said experts will support PEDO in making it the highest income-generating entity at Rs 50 billion. He assured that issues with the federal government relating to various power projects will be resolved on a priority basis at high-level forums, according to a press release received by WealthPK.

PEDO Chief Executive Naeem Khan said currently 42 transmission lines and hydro and solar power projects are under construction. So far seven hydropower projects have been completed, which are collectively generating 161 MW of electricity, he added.

He said the province is receiving more than Rs 4 billion annual receipts from these hydropower projects, while seven projects including 84 MW Matiltan Swat, 69 MW Lawi Chitral, 40.8 MW Koto Dir, 11.8 MW Krora Shangla, 10.2 MW Jabori Mansehra, 10.5 MW Chapri Charkhel Kuram and 6.5 MW Barandu Tor Gar are rapidly progressing.

On completion, these projects will collectively generate 232.8 megawatts of electricity from which the province will have an annual income of more than Rs 9 billion. Most of these projects are in the final stages of completion, he added.

Furthermore, work on the solarization of 4,400 mosques, 8,000 schools, and 187 primary health units is also in progress, he said. The completion of solar energy projects will save the province billions of rupees annually in terms of electricity bills, he added.

In the second phase, Naeem Khan said, 291 mini micro-hydro stations are also being constructed in backward areas and will produce 41 MW of electricity. Similarly, he said that work on several energy projects is also in progress under private investment, including donor agencies the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

He said inexpensive electricity produced by the hydropower projects is being sold to the industrial sector through the wheeling model. A target of generating 1,000 megawatts of inexpensive electricity has been set in the next 10 years, he added.

In addition, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Transmission and Grid Company for the first time has been established to improve the electricity system in the province and enable the delivery of its own electricity. The administrative structure of the new company is progressing rapidly, he added.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk