STAFF REPORT IBD: As many as 3000 homes in 49 villages of Sindh have been energized so far through the use of solar energy under the Rural Electrification Programme.
According to an official, the PC-I for electrification of 300 villages of Balochistan have also been approved and will be executed on availability of funds under the programme launched Alternate Energy Development Board (AEDB) for remote areas in the country.
The Board has also initiated Parliamentarians Sponsored Village Electrification Program (PSVEP) funded from the development budget of the legislators, the official said adding a feasibility is being conducted for another 10 schemes at various stages of development.
The official said that the main objective to reduce the demand and dependence on national grid through solar energy, AEDB has undertaken a programme with the assistance of World Bank for efficiency improvement of existing tube-wells and introduction of renewable energy for groundwater pumping for multiple uses in Pakistan.
The Board is serving as an executing agency at the federal level and projects are being implemented in Punjab and KPK with an estimated cost of $139.5 million.