PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has completed 10 hydropower projects with a combined generation capacity of 224 megawatts, expected to generate annual revenue of around Rs13 billion for the province, Secretary Energy and Power Nisar Ahmad said on Wednesday.
Presiding over a meeting, the secretary said that seven additional hydropower projects would be completed over the next two years, raising the province’s clean and low-cost energy capacity to about 1,000MW and increasing annual earnings to an estimated Rs55bn. He added that work was also underway on three flagship projects in Swat district, which are expected to add 387MW to the system within the same timeframe.
The meeting was attended by Additional Secretary Energy Anwar Khan Sherani, Chief Executive Officer of Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organisation (PEDO) Engineer Anwarul Haq, Senior Chief Planning Officer Syed Zahar Shah and other senior officials.
Briefing the participants, PEDO CEO Engineer Anwarul Haq said three major hydropower projects — 40.8MW Koto Dir, 11.8MW Karora in Shangla and 10.2MW Jabori in Mansehra — were successfully completed last year, bringing PEDO’s total generation capacity to 224MW.
He said construction was in progress on seven projects, including 300MW Balakot (Mansehra), 215MW Madin (Swat), 88MW Gabral Kalam, 84MW Matiltan (Swat), 69MW Lawi (Chitral), 13.5MW Chapri Charkhel (Kurram) and 6.9MW Mujahideen (Torghar).
Secretary Nisar Ahmad said work had been accelerated on a 40-kilometre transmission line along the Swat corridor, scheduled for completion next year, which would enable the sale of low-cost hydropower to the province’s industrial sector. He termed the 40km-long 132/220kV transmission line from Matiltan to Madin as a critical project and directed authorities to complete it within the current year.
He also instructed officials to expedite work on the province’s largest hydropower scheme, the 300MW Balakot project, and ensure that all completed projects were integrated into the national grid. Where grid integration was not possible, he directed PEDO to immediately obtain distribution licences under the direct supply model to provide cheaper electricity to industry.
The secretary warned project directors to address operational gaps, complete terms of reference and adhere strictly to timelines, saying any delay in project completion would not be tolerated.
