With the economy in jeopardy, the federal government has issued new guidelines to government institutions for solarizing public buildings.
Sources told ProPakistani that the government has decided not to open state coffers to fund the solarization of public buildings, but instead directed all state institutions to set aside space and install solar panels with their own funds.
The load estimation report of the full project will be sent to the Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB). All departments have been directed to follow the guidelines for shifting to solar power and to make sure all government buildings have switched to solar by April 30, 2023.
As mentioned earlier, government institutions and departments will bear the entire cost of switching to solar energy. Sources said departments that do not have the budget will get solar panels on lease. With these measures, the government plans to save around 5,200 MW of power, potentially reducing the import bill by billions of dollars each year.
The AEDB will start the competitive bidding process for the selection of Installer/Contractor on behalf of the Procuring Agencies soon. In this regard, a Bid Evaluation Committee will be constituted comprising officials from AEDB and Procuring Agencies.
For fast-track Solarization of public sector buildings, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed that a centralized procurement process shall be adopted for the solarization of all public sector buildings. In this regard, AEDB has been tasked to carry out the competitive bidding process on behalf of the Procuring Agencies where the Procuring Agencies will enter into Contract Agreements with the Successful Bidders.
Procuring Agencies will provide requisite information pertaining to buildings owned by them on the standard proforma prepared and shared by AEDB with all the ministries.
For the Own Cost Model, Procuring Agencies will ensure funds availability, while for Lease Purchase Model, a letter of commitment will be obtained from the Finance Division by the Procuring Agencies confirming funds availability for payment of quarterly installments.
We talk about solarization within the next 3-4 months whereas the entire solar industry is stranded due to shortage of equipment with the current import situation. The project initiative is definitely in the positive direction but unfortunately the timeline is not realistic.