The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has crossed another important milestone in the energy sector by signing an agreement with the federal agency PESCO for the sale of electricity after the successful completion of 40.8 MW Koto Hydropower Project in Lower Dir district. On one hand, the Koto Hydropower Project will generate 207 gigawatts of cheap electricity annually, and on the other hand, this important project will generate an annual revenue of Rs. 2 billion for the province.
In this regard, a special ceremony was held at WAPDA House Peshawar to sign a Power Acquisition Contract between the federal energy department Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO) and the Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organization (PEDO), a subsidiary of the provincial energy and power department, for the sale of electricity generated from the Koto Hydropower Project.
Moreover, Special Assistant to Chief Minister, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for Energy Engineer Tariq Sadozai, former provincial minister and chairman of PESCO Board Himayat ullah Khan, Secretary Energy and Power Zubair Khan, Chief Executive PESCO Akhtar Hameed, Chief Engineer PEDO Aziz Bacha, Director General Mirad Atif Jawad participated in the ceremony.
While delivering the opening remarks at the beginning of the ceremony, Special Assistant on Energy Engineer Tariq Sadozai termed the completion of the Koto Hydropower Project as a historic achievement towards the stabilization of the province’s economy and said that on the one hand, this project will generate environment-friendly and cheap electricity, and on the other hand, it will help in overcoming the power crisis faced by the supply of electricity in the national grid.
Sadozai appreciated the efforts of Secretary Energy and all officers of PEDO, Directors PEDO Faraz Khan, Syed Asif Raza, Junaid Iqbal, Muqeem uddin and Project Director Sultan Room in the sale of electricity and expressed hope that the agreements for the sale of electricity generated from other completed power projects of PEDO will be successfully concluded.
Furthermore, he stressed on ensuring the payment of arrears due to PESCO in the sale of electricity generated from the Pehur and Machai hydropower projects under the responsibility of the federal government and vowed to take concrete steps for the early resolution of the issue. At the end of the ceremony, PESCO and PEDO officials also exchanged honorary shields to the officers of both institutions.
