Solar projects to be expedited to fulfil Bilawal’s promise of free power: Nasir

Newly appointed Sindh Energy Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah has said the execution of the ongoing solar power projects in the province will be expedited to fully tap the clean energy potential of Sindh and fulfil the election campaign promise of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to provide 300 units of free electricity to underprivileged consumers.

Shah stated this while chairing an introductory meeting with the officials of the Sindh energy department after he assumed charge of his ministerial position on Wednesday. The energy minister asked the officials of his department to take care of quality standards and merit while executing the development projects.

The energy minister was told that a total of 15.3 million tonnes of coal was being extracted annually from the Block One and Block Two of the Thar coal mines and the Thar coal was being consumed to produce 3,300 megawatts of electricity for the national grid to save the precious foreign exchange otherwise spent on imported fuels for the energy sector.

A 105-kilometre-long railway track would be laid from Islamkot to Chor for transportation of the Thar coal upcountry to use it for various purposes, the meeting was told. Shah was briefed that wind energy projects in Sindh had been producing 1,845 megawatts (MWs) of clean electricity for the national grid. Three solar power projects of 150 MWs had been completed in the province and as many World Bank-assisted solar energy projects would also be initiated to generate a total of 400 MWs of renewable electricity for the K-Electric.

The meeting was told that solar power systems had been installed on the premises of 33 public hospitals and government-run health centres having the capacity to generate 21 MWs of electricity. The rooftops of 24 government buildings had also been utilised for the installation of solar power systems for generating 11 MWs of clean electricity.