Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has decided to implement Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s initiative to provide free electricity to off-grid residents and low electricity consumers through solar energy solutions.
During a meeting at the CM House on Friday, various proposals were discussed. Energy Minister Nasir Hussain Shah highlighted that around 800,000 households use 50MW of electricity per month. This includes 441,483 households in K-Electric’s service area, 229,338 in Hyderabad Electric Supply Company’s (Hesco) area, and 125,500 in Sukkur Electric Power Company’s (Sepco) area.
He also noted that 1.9 million households use 100MW of electricity per month: 1,054,000 in Karachi, 566,427 in Hyderabad, and 356,073 in Sukkur. Additionally, 2.6 million households in Sindh are off-grid, with 500,000 set to receive solar home systems (SHSs) in the first phase.
The CM explained that a 100-watt SHS can power three LED bulbs, a 35W DC fan, and provide six hours of battery backup, with mobile charging ports. The energy minister estimated the cost of each SHS at around Rs50,000, totaling Rs25 billion for 500,000 units.
The CM proposed establishing six microgrids of 75kW each as pilot projects to serve clusters of 100 households. These grids would cater to households consuming 100kWh of electricity. The energy minister suggested preparing a feasibility study for this project.
Additionally, the CM proposed creating three solar parks, each with a capacity of 305MW, to supply electricity to KE, Hesco, and Sepco for both on-grid and off-grid households. He directed the energy minister to prepare detailed proposals for the solar parks and SHSs for further discussion and approval.
Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah was instructed to collect data on potential SHS beneficiaries to aid government decision-making. The meeting was also attended by Adviser to CM on Cooperative Societies Ahsan Mazari, Principal Secretary to CM Agha Wasif, Energy Secretary Musadiq Khan, and other officials.
