by admin | Apr 5, 2018 | Uncategorized
Hydro power stations are a major source of providing our nations’ electricity. The total Hydropower resource in Pakistan is estimated at about 50,000 MW. Most of the assets are located in the North of the nation, mainly in the areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit, Chitral etc. where waterfalls, rivers and streams exist in a huge number hence providing ample sources of running water. Even though smaller (less than 50 MW) micro hydro plant sites are present throughout the country, if leveraged correctly, they can help reduce the power shortage that Pakistan increasingly has been facing over the past few years. The usual sponsors for such ventures are Agha Khan Foundation’s Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) and Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organization (PEDO), Pakistan’s Hydel Development Funds and other agencies like Asian Development Bank. The micro hydro plants deployed have not been utilized to their maximum potential as of yet due to the fact that these are mainly ‘deploy and forget’ schemes i.e. once the plans have been executed, no proper follow-ups are made on the operations of the plant, as these ventures are usually donor funded and the donors are interested up till the point that the money given has been utilized fully to the point of the plants’ inauguration, after that their eagerness and focus is shifted elsewhere as they usually have no say in the operational aspects of the micro hydro plant, instead just sound their grievances that the money given is not yielding the results promised when they were donating the amount and no return on investment (ROI) and feasibility is apparent to them for investing huge amounts in such...
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