The Pakistan Army has reportedly made the decision to shift its Cantonments from an expensive energy system to cheaper solar power, media reports quoting sources from the Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) have claimed.
The move is an effort to help alleviate the energy crisis facing the country, with the Army planning to generate energy from solar power for self-consumption in its cantonments nationwide.
Colonel Mansoor Mustafa, Director General Works and Chief Engineer (Army), has apprised the CEO of AEDB, along with several other high-ranking officials, that the Army intends to play its role in the eradication of the current energy crisis through the generation of energy from solar power.
The projects have already been approved by the Government of Pakistan, with the support of AEDB, National Electric Power Regulatory (NEPRA), and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
The Pakistan Army awarded the projects to successful vendors through competitive bidding, including M/s Nizam Energy, M/s Solis Energy Solutions, and M/s Foundation Solar Energy.
Currently, Military Engineering Services (MES) is executing projects of a cumulative 54MW at various cantonments across Pakistan, with some projects exceeding 70% progress on the ground.
However, vendors are facing issues with the import of offshore components, which have delayed several projects for the past six months.
As a result, the General Headquarters (GHQ) has requested AEDB and other authorities involved in the Prime Minister’s Initiative on “Clean and Green Energy” to align its vendors with the same facility provided to Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) providers under the scheme.
This will allow them to complete Army’s pending projects and make use of cleaner and cheaper electricity from solar energy.
The government aims to establish solar power plants of 10,000 MW at different locations in the country to minimize the cost of electricity generation, which is currently unaffordable for industrial, commercial, and domestic consumers.
The government has already decided to shift federal government buildings from the energy system to solar power.
NEPRA, the country’s power sector regulator, has suggested that the power companies have not reduced losses or improved recovery, leading to higher electricity tariffs.
The regulator has also proposed the government to privatize Discos, with the government planning to hand over at least one Disco to each province.
According to Secretary Power, Rashid Mehmood Langrial, the power sector’s losses are higher than the country’s annual defense budget.
Via: Business Recorder
