PEDO working on 42 energy projects

PESHAWAR: Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organization (PEDO), a subsidiary of the Energy Department, is a profitable organization of the province which is working on 42 energy projects and has successfully implemented various hydropower schemes, a meeting was told on Tuesday.

A press release said Secretary Energy and Power Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah received a briefing on PEDO after assuming charge of his office.The secretary said the energy sector was very important in the province. He said PEDO would be made a developed institution with the support of experts and team work.

Earlier, PEDO Chief Executive Engr Naeem Khan said of the 42 energy projects which PEDO was supervising also included hydro and solar ones.He said PEDO had successfully completed seven hydropower projects, from which a total of 161 MW of electricity was being generated.

These schemes, he added, were generating an annual income of more than Rs 4 billion to the province.The official said work on 12 projects, including 300 Megawatts Balakot Mansehra, 157 MW Madyen Swat, 88 MW Gabral Kalam, 84 MW Matiltan Swat, 69 MW Lawi. Chitral, 40.8 MW Koto Dir, 11.8 MW Karora Shangla, 10.5 MW Chapri Charkhel Kuram and 6.9 MW Mujahideen hydropower Torghar projects was going on rapidly, which would generate totally 778 MW of electricity.

This will, he added, generate an annual income of more than Rs. 45 billion to the province. Most of these projects are in the final stages of completion.Likewise, the projects of turning 4,400 mosques, 8,000 schools, 187 basic health units to solar energy have also been successfully completed, which is saving millions of rupees annually to the province in terms of electricity bills.

It was added that in addition, 316 mini micro hydel stations have been constructed in 12 districts from which a total of 29 MW of electricity is being generated and provided to the community.In the second phase, 291 mini micro hydel stations are being constructed, from which a total of 47 MW of cheap electricity will be generated.

The secretary was informed that donor agencies, including the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, were also working on several energy projects through private investment.It was added, the goal of generating 1,000 megawatts of cheap electricity has been set for the next 10 years.Apart from this, KP Transmission and Grid Company has been established for the first time to improve the electricity system in the province and to enable the delivery of its own electricity.