Sindh govt striving for socio-economic sustainable uplift thru green energy initiatives, says Murad Shah
KARACHI Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that his government is striving for socio-economic sustainable development through green energy initiatives in line with international commitments.
“Apart from the development of Indigenous thar coal, the various projects have so far been completed,” he said.
This he said on Thursday while speaking at the inauguration ceremony for the distribution of Solar-Home-System (SHS) by Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
According to the Chief Minister, the completed projects include the development of a Wind corridor in Jhampir, District Thatta, where 1,845 MW of power is being produced. Additionally, 40 public sector buildings, mostly hospitals, have been equipped with rooftop solar panels with a capacity of 26 MW. Furthermore, 352 rural health centres have been solarized with a standard 3KW solar system.
In addition to this, 24 schemes for the solarization of public sector schools, colleges, primary healthcare facilities, jails, and government buildings are in the process of installing solar panels, the CM said. He added that the solar program has been further accelerated, and during the current year, 656 government schools would be equipped with solar power.
Mr Shah applauded Bilawal Bhutto’s interest in providing the quick delivery of solar systems to the common man in line with the party election Manifesto of free electricity units of up to 300 units. He added that to combat the exorbitant electricity bills charged by the Distribution companies from the General public.
The provincial Energy dept has collected the figures for the numbers of households having up to 300 units of electricity consumption and it was revealed that 2.6 million Households have no access to electricity. 2.4 million households have a consumption of less than 100 units; 0.37 million households have a consumption of less than 200 units and 0.498 million households have a consumption of less than 300 units
We have developed a comprehensive plan to fulfil the party manifesto during the five-year tenure through multiple programs, including the provision of SHS to the poorest of the poor free of costs; and the provision of small SHS on a cost-sharing basis with Inverter & batteries. Provision of Solar Home Systems with Inverters and batteries through interest-free loans. “To achieve these targets, several green energy projects 0n – Grid & off-grid have been initiated,” he said.
Murad Shah disclosed that an expression of Interest has been floated for various options of Solar Home Systems through off-grid DC systems and on-grid AC systems with the provision of batteries and inverter. He added that Rs 10 billion has been allocated during this year’s budget.
The CM said that the Mini, Micro and SMART Grids with state-of-the-art technology in various villages are to be operated on a community-sharing model. “The provincial government will bear the capital installation costs, and the operating costs will be borne by the beneficiaries through community-based services for which Rs 720 million has been allocated 2024-25.
Mr Shah said that the microgrids with small wind turbines hybrid with solar in the coastal belt of the province have wind potential available in abundance. He added that 172 Public sector buildings will be shifted to Solar during the current financial year.
Mr CM disclosed that several green projects with new technologies have been initiated for the first time in the country and are being pushed on a fast-track basis. They include two solar parks in Karachi with 270 MW Capacity (150 MW in Malir & 120 MW in Distt West). He added that both the projects are in the final stages of the bidding process
Murad Shah said that a 50 MW Waste to Energy project in Karachi was also in the advanced stage. 500 MW Floating Solar projects on Keenjhar Lake, saving water evaporation in addition to power production. “This project has been selected by UNDP as one of the projects to be presented in next year’s energy fair scheduled in New York.
According to the CM a four MW Floating Solar project on the Water supply pond of Water and Sanitation Authority Hyderabad; 500 MW Green hydrogen project, 350 MW Wind -Solar hybrid with battery Energy Storage System (BESS) are in the pipeline.
Sindh is the Hub of the Pakistan Energy corridor. Today exorbitant energy prices have severely damaged the socio-economic fabric of the public and these prices can only be reduced with maximum utilization of indigenous and green energy resources, having no fuel costs.
SEPRA: Mr Shah said that the Sindh Electric Power Regulatory Authority (SEPRA) has been established and it would be made operational in the next three months. “With the establishment of SEPRA, the power project costs will be reduced to one-third per unit – around Rs.18 per unit including transmission line wheeling charges,” he said and added that all these green initiatives would ultimately mitigate the climate change effects.
Minister Energy: Minister Energy Syed Nasir Shah speaking on the occasion said that the Solar Home System would consist of an 80 to 100-watt solar PV Plate, a minimum 18 AH Lithium-ion battery, one DC fan, three LED bulbs and a mobile charging facility. He added that the estimated cost of the system was around Rs.50,000, including transport, taxes and duties and would be provided to eligible low-income families at around 80 per cent subsidy. “Each beneficiary will pay a token amount of Rs 6000,” he said.
Nasir Shah said that to ensure transparency, the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) data has been used to register low-income households as the criteria for determining household eligibility. Additionally, the poverty scorecard, which ranges from 21 to 50, has been initially employed.
Minister Energy said that BISP data ranging from 0-20 were households, having sources of income and unable to arrange the cost-sharing of at least Rs 6000 for a solar home system kit. “Around 160,000 households have so far been recorded in the province in the below 0-20 Poverty scorecard,” he said and added that all identified the poorest households would be provided with the same solar kits Free of cost under the provincial Annual Development Program (ADP) during this financial year.
Talking about the project implementation strategy, Nasir Shah said that the Sindh government would cover the cost of the solar home system ( SHS) including the appliances such as fan, cables blubs, plus taxes and duties.