PESHAWAR:Secretary Energy and Power Syed Imtiaz Hussain Shah on Wednesday said the ongoing solar energy projects in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are showing the best results of timely relief to the people.
He said due to these projects electricity billing expenditures are also being reduced, adding that the performance of field staff working on solar energy projects is commendable. It is great honor for us that quite recently, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) awarded the “Excellence Award” in solar projects of PEDO a subsidiary of Energy Department for outstanding Implementation, he added.
He expressed these views while addressing a meeting held with regard to awarding the best performance to the field officers and staff of the ongoing solar energy projects under the auspices of PEDO. During the meeting, Chief Executive PEDO Engr Naeem Khan said that PEDO is currently working on projects to transfer solar energy to 8000 schools and 187 basic health units (BHUs) with the financial support of ADB, which will generate 12 MW of electricity free from load shedding.
He said it will benefit one million students and 1.2 million patients. Solarization of 4400 mosques is also in progress which will benefit 800,000 namazi (worshippers), he added. He said billions of rupees are expected to be saved annually in this regard. Ongoing projects, once completed in the coming days, will help stabilize the economy and create new employment opportunities in the province.
He said in addition, various schemes for solarization of mosques, bazaars and other religious places in newly merged tribal districts are in full swing. Completion of these projects is expected to save billions of rupees annually in electricity bills of the province.
Secretary Energy Syed Imtiaz Hussain Shah presented certificates of appreciation and shields to the field staff as well as project director Asif Kamal and chief executive officer PEDO Engineer Naeem Khan for their outstanding performance in solar energy projects. While handing over the shields, he expressed his determination that the ongoing projects of PEDO would help in stabilizing the economy and creating new employment opportunities in the province in the coming days.