Islamabad: National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has granted license to Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organization (PEDO) for the establishment of 11.80 MW Karora Hydel Power Plant located on Khan Khwar River at Karora village near Besham, District Shangla. The Licensing authority has expressed optimism that this project will relieve some pressure from the national exchequer because it uses water which is a Renewable Energy (RE) source.
In an earlier statement NEPRA stated that currently power generation in the country is dependent upon imported fossil fuel which is not only an environmental concern but also creates pressure on the precious foreign exchange reserves of the country. In order to achieve sustainable development, it is imperative that all indigenous resources specially RE including hydel, wind, solar and other RE resources are given priority for power generation and their development is encouraged.
PEDO has successfully completed seven (07) small and medium sized hydel power projects. These include (a) 81.00 MW Malakand-Ill (b) 18.00 MW Pehur (c) 1.80 MW Shishi (d). 4.20 MW Reshun (e) 2.40 MW Machai (f) 17.00 MW Ranolia (g) 36.60 MW Daral Khwar Projects. Currently, PEDO is working on a number of hydropower projects which are at different stages of implementation located in Chitral, Dir, Swat, Mansehra and Kohistan.
Detailed feasibility of the project was carried out by ACE Consulting Engineers (Pvt.) Limited, Pakistan Engineering Services (Pvt.) Ltd (PES) and Development & Management Consultant (DMC) in association with Nippon Koei Co Ltd, Japan.
