our correspondent
PESHAWAR
Secretary Energy and Electronics Muhammad Zubair Khan Sunday said that steps have been taken to provide electricity to the people in the backward areas of the province where there is no national grid facility is a great achievement of the provincial government.
Talking to media men, Secretary Energy and Electronics Muhammad Zubair Khan said that 32 more Small Power Plants to be constructed in 11 districts deprived of power in the province this year and an additional 672 small power plants will be built to remove the deprivation of the backward areas.
He said, the provincial government has successfully completed 300 small power plants out of 332 mini micro hydel stations (small power plants) in remote areas of 11 districts of the province which are backward and deprived of power.
The process of power generation has started regularly by setting up houses. By the end of this year, 32 more Mini Micro Hydel Stations will also be completed. Addressing a function on the occasion of completion of 300 mini micro hydel stations, Secretary Energy and Electronics Muhammad Zabeer Khan said that providing electricity to the people in the backward areas of the province where there is no national grid facility is a great achievement of the provincial government.
The provincial government, with the financial assistance of the Asian Development Bank, will also build 672 more such Small Hydropower Projects which will generate 55 MW of electricity. He vowed that the energy department would continue the development journey in the province. With the availability of the electricity facilities it would help expanding and promoting the tourism and hotel sectors.
During the function, Project Director Money Micro Hydel Stations Malik Luqman Khan while giving a briefing said that a total of about 24 MW power is being generated from 300 completed small power plants whereas with the completion of 32 more projects by the end of this year a total of 32 MW power will be generated.
He said that PEDO, a subsidiary of the Department of Energy, has completed most of the projects through various NGOs and handed them over to the local community which will be run by the local population on their own.
He said that these projects would cost about Rs. 5.5 billion. It may be recalled that initially a total of 356 micro-hydel stations were proposed but later some projects could not be constructed due to unsuitability, after which their total number has increased to 332 which will be completed by December this year.
