DLP Report
PESHAWAR
Two mini-micro hydropower projects with a combined generation capacity of 342 kilowatts have been completed in Upper Dir, providing electricity to more than 1,300 households in off-grid areas, officials said on Wednesday.
The projects were inaugurated by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Secretary Energy and Power Nisar Ahmed during his visit to Upper Dir under the province’s Access to Clean Energy Programme, being implemented by the Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organisation (PEDO).
The newly completed projects include a 250-kilowatt mini hydropower plant at Siah Badrakani Dogdara and a 92-kilowatt mini-micro hydropower project at Jogi Kas Dogdara.
According to officials, the two schemes will provide uninterrupted electricity to more than 1,300 households, benefiting over 7,000 people in remote areas of the district.
Addressing the inauguration ceremony, Mr Ahmed said the provincial government planned to complete 10 more mini-micro hydropower projects with a combined capacity of 2,445 kilowatts by the end of the year, extending electricity access to thousands more residents.
Project Director Engineer Faisal Dawar said the Siah Badrakani project would supply electricity to over 1,000 families, while the Jogi Kas project would benefit more than 300 families.
MPA Malik Gul Ibrahim, who also attended the ceremony, said the provision of basic infrastructure to remote areas remained a priority of the provincial government, adding that work on several small hydropower projects in Upper Dir was progressing rapidly.
Mr Ahmed said the Energy and Power Department was implementing a number of small, medium and large hydropower projects to harness the province’s abundant water resources and help address the energy shortage.
During the visit, the secretary also inspected eight under-construction mini-micro hydropower projects in Upper Dir, including Dog Pain (75kW), Tapandi (250kW), Kalkot (200kW), Thal Malo (250kW), Munzdog (150kW), Roghani Kalay (50kW), Malok Khor (150kW) and Shringal (500kW).
He also laid the foundation stones of a 700kW mini hydropower project in Salul Union Council, Sheringal, and a 120kW micro hydropower project at Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University, Sheringal.
The secretary later visited the site of the
