Rays of light: Set the controls from the heart of the sun

With unabated load-shedding, city is fast turning to solar panels

PESHAWAR: The lyrics of Pink Floyd’s song, ‘Setting the controls from the heart of the sun’, appear to ring true for the city’s residents. Miffed over prolonged power outages, many locals have taken matters into their own hands and have now started relying on solar panels to get them through the day.

Various parts of the city experience 15 hours of load-shedding every day. As a result, more panels can be seen atop shops and houses.

According to residents, solar panels are an alternative source of energy during the scorching summer. They are an effective and reliable means to run household appliances.

Alternative means

Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) officials have repeatedly stated areas where line losses are up to 50% will face no load-shedding. These areas include Cantt, Hayatabad, Gulbahar, Hashtnagri, Faqirabad, University Town and Charsadda Road.

In addition, localities where line losses exceed 50% will face unscheduled power outages. Inhabitants of these areas are turning to solar panels in an effort to meet their daily needs.

Mushtaq Khan, a resident of Gulberg, told The Express Tribune he has installed a solar panel to three solar-powered fans.

“A single panel, three fans and a battery costs Rs28,000,” he said.

He added when a battery is fully charged, it can work for over three hours to run fans during a power breakdown.

Ahmad Ali, a resident of Sarband, said he has installed a solar panel to run electricity in his 10-room house at a cost of Rs0.1 million.

“It runs four room coolers and over 10 solar powered-fans along with lights,” he added.

According to traders, the panels are also excessively used in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas where over 22 hours of load-shedding is experienced in the summer.

The use of solar energy as an alternative form of power generated from fossil fuels has also increased across the globe.

Selling convenience

Markazi Tanzeem-e-Tajiran President Mujeebur Rehman told The Express Tribune the sale of solar panels has increased all over the city, especially rural areas.

He said panels made in China, US and Germany are available in the market.

“People prefer solar panels that are made in the US and Germany as they come with a 15-year repair warranty,” Rehman added.

He said the price of solar panels is also reasonable as there is no customs duty on the products or panels.

Karkhano Market has many solar panel traders. The price depends on size and the power storage capacity. The smaller ones cost between Rs6,000 and Rs8,000, while prices can shoot up to Rs15,000 for the larger variety.

To store power that can be used to run appliances, a battery costs between Rs10, 000 and Rs15,000 and needs to be installed along with the appliances.

Ahmad Khan, a trader at Karkhano Market, deals in solar panels and appliances. He told The Express Tribune almost all traders have ordered double the number of panels bought in 2015.

“The customers of solar panels are increasing every year,” Ahmad said. “Even well-to-do families prefer solar panels to avoid paying costly electricity bills.”

The provincial government has also installed solar-powered street lights on main GT Road, Khyber Road and Hayatabad Town to provide relief to commuters during power outages.

Similarly, authorities also introduced solar-powered tubewells in different districts of the province to overcome the water shortage for households during unscheduled power outages.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 17^th, 2016.