PESHAWAR:Secretary Energy and Power Syed Imtiaz Hussain Shah has said that the ongoing solar energy projects in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were showing best results by providing timely relief to the people.
He expressed these views while addressing a meeting held for awarding the best performance to the field officers and staff of the ongoing solar energy projects under the auspices of PEDO.
Due to these projects electricity billing expenditures were also being reduced. The performance of the field staff working on solar energy projects was commendable. It was a great honor for us that quite recently, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) awarded the “Excellence Award” in solar projects of PEDO, a subsidiary of the Energy Department for outstanding implementation, he added.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Executive Officer PEDO Engr. Naeem Khan said that PEDO was currently working on projects to transfer 8,000 schools and 187 basic health units (BHUs) on solar energy with the financial support of ADB, which would generate 12 MW of electricity, free from loadshedding.
It would benefit 1 million students and 1.2 million patients. Solarization of 4,400 mosques was also in progress which would benefit 800,000 worshipers. Billions of rupees were expected to be saved annually in this regard, he added.
Once completed, the ongoing project in the coming days would help stabilise the economy and create new employment opportunities in the province. In addition, various schemes for solarisation of mosques, bazaars and other religious places in newly merged tribal districts were in full swing. Completion of these projects was expected to save billions of rupees annually in electricity bills of the province, Naeem Khan said.
Secretary Energy Syed Imtiaz Hussain Shah presented certificates of appreciation and shields to the field staff as well as Project Director Asif Kamal and CEO PEDO Engineer Naeem Khan for their good performance in solar energy projects.