K-P govt to shift health centres on solar energy

Health centres in Peshawar, Swabi, Nowshera, and Haripur, including non-teaching hospitals, will be solar-powered.

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The provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has decided to switch all health centres in four districts to solar energy.

According to the Provincial Health Advisor, Ihtesham Ali, health centres in Peshawar, Swabi, Nowshera, and Haripur, including all non-teaching hospitals, will be converted to solar power.

He stated that under the Human Capital Investment Program, 195 health centres in these four districts will be solarised. This includes 151 Basic Health Units, 25 Rural Health Centres, 13 Category D hospitals, and 6 Category C hospitals.

The Health Advisor mentioned that the aim of the project is to improve primary healthcare services in these districts.

ECC okays 'subsidy-free' winter power relief

The government on Tuesday approved a fixed electricity tariff of Rs26.07 per unit for 25% incremental consumption under the winter electricity package. The scheme will apply for three months and comes with strict eligibility conditions for consumers.

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet approved the proposal regarding the winter demand initiative for domestic consumers of over 200 units' consumption, industrial, commercial and general services consumers, according to the finance ministry.

The ministry stated that the winter package would enable optimal use of system generation capacity besides reducing gas demand due to shifting of favourable demand towards electricity.

A tariff of Rs26.07 per unit will be charged to all eligible consumers on the respective incremental consumption, above the benchmark consumption in the corresponding months, stated the ministry.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced the package but its formal approval was given on Tuesday in the ECC meeting chaired by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb. The package has been approved only for three months after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) turned down Pakistan's request to extend the package for six months' period (December-May 2024-25).

There is no subsidy involved in the package, which suggests that the actual cost of electricity generation is Rs26.07 per unit, while the government charges up to Rs52 per unit, excluding taxes.