CM seeks proposals for solar parks, solar home systems

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has decided to implement Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s plan to provide free-of-charge electricity to those living off-grid and to the consumers using less electricity by implementing solar energy solutions.

The decision to this effect was taken at the CM House on Friday during a meeting in which different proposals were discussed. Energy Minister Nasir Hussain Shah said his department has worked out that around 800,000 households are using 50MW of electricity a month.

He said they include 441,483 in K-Electric’s area of service, 229,338 in the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company’s (Hesco) area of service, and 125,500 in the Sukkur Electric Power Company’s (Sepco) area of service.

Similarly, he added, the number of households using 100MW a month comes to 1.9 million: 1,054,000 in Karachi, 566,427 in the Hyderabad region, and 356,073 in the Sukkur region. The meeting was told that 2.6 million households are off-grid in Sindh, of whom 500,000 might be provided solar home systems (SHSs) in the first phase.

The CM said that a 100-watt SHS is enough for three LED bulbs, a 35W DC fan and a six-hour battery backup, with mobile charging ports. The energy minister said that the cost of an SHS comes to around Rs50,000, so the total cost for 500,000 SHSs would be around Rs25 billion.

The CM said that six microgrids, each one of 75kW, can be established in all six divisions as a pilot project to cover a 100-household cluster.

These grids can provide electricity to the households consuming 100kWh, he added. The energy minister said that the feasibility of this project can be prepared if the proposal is approved. The CM proposed that three solar parks, each one of 305MW, might be established to provide electricity to KE, Hesco and Sepco to supply electricity to the on-grid and off-grid households.

He directed the energy minister to prepare proposals for the solar parks and SHSs so that one of the proposals can be discussed and approved. He also directed Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah to collect data for consumers who would avail the SHS facility. “This will help the government make decisions.” The meeting was also attended by Adviser to CM on Cooperative Societies Ahsan Mazari, Principal Secretary to CM Agha Wasif, Energy Secretary Musadiq Khan and other officials.