IEP prepares recommendations for overcoming power crisis

The federal and provincial governments need to make legislation requiring that solar electricity equal to the one third of the connected electric load would be a mandatory requirement in the urban areas for one-Kanal house. A recommendation to this effect was given by the Institution of Engineers Pakistan Lahore Chapter.
Chairman of the Lahore Chapter IEP Dr Javed Younas Uppal, Vice President Engineer Khalid Sajjad and General Secretary IEP Lahore Engineer Mian Sultan Mahmood prepared recommendations for overcoming electricity crisis. As per recommendations, solar electricity when not in use by the tenant should be injected into Wapda grid system to fulfil the demand of the electricity.
This arrangement would require modification of tariff by Nepra and introduction of Bi-Directional metres for which National Transmission and Dispatch Company can modify the existing specification of Static-3 Phase Electric Metres. The consumers may also get relief in the shape of reduced electricity bill. The proposal does not involve any financial implication from public exchequer.
It is suggested that village electrification should be stopped immediately and electricity should be provided through solar system only and for this purpose banks should be involved for financial system like the banks were assisting villagers in Bangladesh and India for solar electrification.
Banks should be made critical partners and ownership registration should be kept, as guarantee with the bank and the bank will provide finance. The owner of the house will pay monthly installations as electricity bill. It is also suggested as a short-term measure that solar panel and inverter manufacturing factories be installed as on public=private partnership basis and engineering universities can be made partners of these ventures.
It is suggested that small towns having population of 50,000 to 100,000 should provide electricity through local generation by public and private partnership or through co-operative scheme by formulating a society for the agreed intents. To generate electricity under this scheme the renewable energy like solar, wind, biogas are best options.
The company generating electricity under this scheme should also be responsible for distribution of electricity in the town at the agreed tariff. There are thousands of towns in the country, which can be delinked from the National grid, resulting in reduction in transmission and transformation loss that would be in megawatts. The commercial plazas all over the country should be supply electricity through their own solar power generation system. All street, garden lights and traffic signals should be converted to solar electricity.
Presidency, PM House, Governor, CM houses and attached offices should be converted to solar instead of conventional supply. It is also recommended that use of gas water heater should be dispensed with immediately by replacing them with solar water heaters. In this way gas which is saved will be used for producing electricity. It should be compulsory for all four and five star hotels to install solar panel adding that supply of electricity to these hotels through Discos should immediately disconnected.