PPAF sets up 39 units in Chitral,
Gilgit and Skardu, catering to energy needs of 100,000 people at nominal rate
Pakistan has been facing acute energy crunch since long. This crisis is deepening with every passing day. Though successive governments have taken measures to resolve the issue, only negligible improvement has been witnessed. International donors have been suggesting various measures to tackle the situation, but have so far found no panacea.
Pakistan has got abundant resources to utilize its landscape for microhydel power generation, which is much cheaper as compared to the other means. Thermal power generation means wasting huge money on the purchase of oil and other allied facilities.
It is said where there is a will, there is a way. Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) has followed the dictum and taken the initiative of establishing 39 microhydel power generation units in Chitral, Gilgit and Skardu regions, catering to energy needs of over 100,000 individuals in remote and inaccessible areas.
A group of journalists who visited these projects were amazed to find how easily these units could help overcome the current energy crises in the country.
Microhydel harnesses the mechanical energy of moving water and transforms it into electrical energy. Water from a river or tributary is diverted into a channel which is then brought down through a penstock pipe so that the pressure created rotates the blades of the turbine, which in turn rotates the attached belt of the generator. The generator produces an electric current. The current is passed through a control panel and electricity is transmitted to households via transmission and distribution cables.
These microhydel projects have the capacity to generate 800kw electricity. Around 2,179 households of 44 villages are enjoying uninterrupted supply of electricity to commercial entities and schools. The average population of these areas is 18,211 people.
Out of 39, as many as 21 microhydels are functional while work on the remaining 18 microhydels is in progress. It would install another 30 microhydels in the next five years. Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) is the implementing partner of PPAF in these areas.
These microhydels have been established in the off-grid areas where otherwise the mountain communities would not have even dreamt of having electricity. Besides fulfilling the energy needs, the projects have benefited local environment by using a natural resource to generate electricity without depleting quantity or quality of that resource or harming aquatic fauna and flora. Moreover, no waste byproducts are produced, which are associated with the other forms of electricity generation.
Costing communities less than Rs 1.50 (home) to Rs 3 (commercial) per unit, electricity is generated without releasing greenhouse gases whereas WAPDA charges Rs eight per unit. These projects are implemented, run and maintained by communities. Till the introduction of microhydels, over 90 per cent of the population of Chitral and other areas did not have electricity.
These microhydels have been constructed at a cost of Rs 48.254 million with PPAF bearing 80 per cent of the total cost and the benefiting communities contributing 20 per cent in the form of cash, kind or labour. These microhydel projects have improved the living standards of the community, especially women.
Begusht village in Garam Chashma tehsil is hardly 55 kilometers from Chitral district, but had been without electricity for decades and had no chance of getting connected to the national grid in the next 20-40 years.
Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) executed a microhydel project at Begusht to provide electricity to the communities in far-flung areas. Constructed at a cost of Rs 4.857 million with 20 per cent community contribution, this microhydel has the capacity to generate 100kw and is catering to the energy needs of more than 1,800 households of five villages in the difficult terrain in the Northern Areas.
The AKRSP has also executed a microhydel project in Oveerk village, Garam Chashma tehsil. The project has the capacity to generate 50kw electricity and it was constructed at a cost of Rs 5.496 million, benefiting 1,600 individuals residing in 180 households.
Another unit built in Zheture village in Garam Chashma tehsil at a cost of Rs 4.857 million has the capacity to generate 100kw electricity. As many as 280 households (2,520 people) are benefiting from uninterrupted power supply at a negligible cost.
A washing centre has also been established along with microhydel at Wahat village where an element is attached to warm water for washing. The centre is an interesting sight where women wash and gossip. A woman, Shahida Khatoon, when asked, said, “Women love to come here and do their daily chores as it’s more of a fun now.”
Besides other benefits of microhydel power generation, health conditions of the local people have improved. Now they don’t have to bear smoke produced from fuel wood, generators, and kerosene lamps. Respiratory diseases, especially among women, have registered a decline.
Access to electricity has provided women with an opportunity to improve their social and economic conditions. They use light to make traditional woolen fabric (Chitrali Patti) traditional caps, woolen socks, gloves, shirts and mufflers for domestic and commercial purposes. Gulchin Bibi of Birzeen village said, “It’s our rebirth. We feel to be a part of global village as we watch TV and know what is happening around us.”
Access to electricity has reduced the locals’ dependency on burning of wood and use of kerosene as a source of heat in cold weather. The provision of electricity has helped a lot in deforestation in the area which will have a positive impact on environment.
