Pakistan produces 6,900 MW of hydro power. Huge potential lies unused all over. Mega dams like Bhasha and Dasu etc require billions of dollars and also years to complete. So what good can we get from our streams and rivers. But thanks to a small, modest workshop in Mardan, Pakistan can also generate many thousands more MW hydro power from small hydro plants installed all over the country, particularly in Khyber, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit.
The workshop in Mardan has made over 1,500 micro hydro power plants (MHHPs) to date. It consists of only basic workshop machines like lathe, drill and welding transformer. There are thousands of such workshops in Pakistan which can make turbines ranging from 10 to 300 KW. We can tackle the 4,500 MW power deficit quickly, if we make 15,000 more MHHPs with 300 KW turbines. Heavy Mechanical Complex Taxilla, Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works, precision engineering in PIA and Mughalpura workshop of Pakistan Railways can also make typical mechanical components like shafts, rotors, casings, couplings and gears of much better quality than given by MHHPs.
Generators can be made in Gujrat by fan manufacturers and engineers can develop proper assembly lines with quality control measures to continuously produce MHHPs. This will also create thousands of jobs for unemployed youth, technicians and welders. Kalam, Swat is blessed with abundant waterfalls and fast flowing streams capable of producing power. We can use MHHP electricity to meet Kalam’s power needs and disconnect the city from WAPDA power. Power thus saved can be diverted to power starved industrial hubs in Faisalabad, Sialkot, Gujrat, Gujranwala, Lahore and Karachi.
Similar plants can be installed in other Swat cities like Bahrain, Madian Miandam, Mingora and Saidu Sharif etc. And same can be done in Azad Kashmir, Gilgit and Balitistan. And lower plains – Punjab and Sindh – too can benefit from Mardan technology. Power plants with 300 KW turbines (or with more/ less capacity) can also be installed along canals to service nearby towns/ villages sparing their power for bigger cities. Mardan technology can rid Pakistan of power shortage easily and quickly. It may be noted here that all ingredients needed to produce 4,500 MW are available locally; we just need to make a start.
