PESHAWAR   -  Special Assistant to Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for Energy Taj Muhammad Tarand Sunday said that construction of small hydro power plants (mini micro hydel stations) in the backward areas of the province deprived of power is the top priority of the present provincial government.

The plan to build 356 mini micro hydel stations in the province is an exemplary achievement of the PTI provincial government where thousands of families are benefiting from these mini micro hydel power stations with electricity.

In the next phase, work on 672 more Mini Micro Hydel Stations will be started soon, he said, during his address in a meeting on energy projects in PEDO. Senior officials of the department including MPA Sharafat Ali, focal person of the energy department were also present. Briefing Taj Muhammad Tarand, Chief Executive Engineer Naeem Khan said that KP is currently generating 162 MW of electricity from 7 hydropower plants completed from its own resources, which is generating about Rs. 4.5 billion annually for the province by adding it to the conventional grid. He said, work is in progress under the short term plan, six more projects of 96 MW will be completed by the end of this year, which will bring additional revenue of about Rs. 4 billion to the province.

Under the mid-term plan, work is underway on 6 projects of 223 MW which will be completed in 2024 while under the long term plan 9 projects will generate 1899 MW of electricity which will be completed in 2027-28. He said that 8000 schools, 4400  mosques, 187 Basic Health Centers will be shifted to solar energy and work on other such projects is in progress. The Civil Secretariat, including the Chief Minister’s Secretariat House, has already been shifted to the solar energy system, which is saving the province millions of rupees annually.

On the occasion, Special Energy Assistant Taj Muhammad said that the natural resources of hydropower generation in the province are a valuable treasure which can be utilized not only to generate cheap electricity but also to bring the country out of energy crisis.

Finally, the Special Assistant expressed satisfaction over the performance of PEDO and directed to prepare a detailed visit plan for self-review of work on project sites. He hoped that PEDO technical project staff would enable timely completion of ongoing projects.