Metro stations, Orange Line train to go solar

LAHORE: The Punjab government has decided to convert all stations and stops of the Orange Line Train to solar power, ARY News reported.

This decision of the Punjab government will reduce the costs of the Orange Line train and save the government exchequer.

According to the Orange Line train sources, a 1.6 megawatt solar power plant will be installed for the Orange Line train, through which electricity will be provided to all stations of the Orange Line train. They said that the electricity generated from the solar power plant will meet the power required for electric stairs, stops and other needs of the Orange Line train.

It is worth mentioning here that in this regard, the Punjab government provides billions of rupees annually as a subsidy. After converting it to solar energy, the system will save crores of rupees per month in terms of electricity bills.

It is worth mentioning here that Pakistanis are increasingly ditching the national grid in favour of solar power, prompting a boom in rooftop panels and spooking a government weighed down by billions of dollars of power sector debt.

Also read: Free solar panels applications open for eligible households

The quiet energy revolution has spread from wealthy neighbourhoods to middle- and lower-income households as customers look to escape soaring electricity bills and prolonged power cuts.

Down a cramped alley in Pakistan’s megacity of Karachi, residents fighting the sweltering summer heat gather in Fareeda Saleem’s modest home for something they never experienced before — uninterrupted power.

“Solar makes life easier, but it’s a hard choice for people like us,” she says of the installation cost.

Saleem was cut from the grid last year for refusing to pay her bills in protest over enduring 18-hour power cuts.

A widow and mother of two disabled children, she sold her jewellery — a prized possession for women in Pakistan — and borrowed money from relatives to buy two solar panels, a solar inverter and battery to store energy, for 180,000 rupees ($630).

As temperatures pass 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), children duck under Saleem’s door and gather around the breeze of her fan.