As many as 200,000 solar home systems (SHS) would be provided to low-income households selected through the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) data in all districts of the province, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said on Saturday.

“By the end of October first batch of 50,000 SHS kits would reach Karachi for onward distribution,” he said at the signing ceremony of framework agreements for solar systems at the CM House.

Earlier this month, the provincial government proposed solar panels and 100 units of free electricity to the impoverished residents of the province who are struggling with the electricity crisis.

The provincial energy minister had described it as “good news” for the people.

Murad said that the Sindh Solar Energy Project (SSEP) was being executed for Rs27.4 billion with the $100 million financial support of the World Bank.

“The Solar Home Systems would consist of an 80-100W Solar PV Plate, a minimum 18 AH Lithium-ion battery, one DC fan, three LED bulbs and a mobile charging facility,” he said.

The chief minister added that the system’s estimated cost was around Rs55,000, including transport, taxes and duties and would be provided to eligible low-income families at around 80 per cent subsidy.

Criteria

While sharing the criteria, the CM said that the selection of low-income households was made using the BISP register of low-income households as the criteria for household eligibility. The poverty scorecard ranging from 21 to 50 has been initially used.

The BISP data ranging from 0-20 are those households, having no capacity of paying at least Rs6,000 for a solar home system kit, the CM said and added that such poorest households would be provided solar kits under the Annual Development Program of the Energy Department.

Programme strategy

The programme was started in 2020, but the amount of subsidy was 40 per cent and the poor people were unable to pay the 60 per cent costs. Under the old programme, the CM said that only 322 systems were sold.

“Now, with the support of WB, the subsidy amount has been increased up to 80 per cent but the programme was delayed due to the devastating floods in 2022 and Covid-19,” he said.

CM Murad said that the project strategy was revised with an increase in subsidy and the bulk procurement model was adopted. In the original project, he added that 10 districts were selected, but under the revised programme all 30 districts, including seven districts of Karachi have been included.

CM Murad stated that the implementation strategy was being changed with the “bulk procurement model” through international bidding in the light of World Bank procurement guidelines. “The beneficiaries will be charged a small amount of Rs6,000,” he said.

Framework agreements would be signed with the selected firms for supply of 200,000 SHS kits in different batches based on requirements throughout the project time period, ie July 2025, through the international bidding process under WB regulations, according to a provincial government statement.

In the bidding process, Energy Minister Nasir said that three firms – out of the 18 local and international firms – qualified for the signing of framework agreements.

The companies include Bboxx Ltd, UK, Shenzen LEMI Technology Development Co. Ltd, China and D light Design Ltd, USA.

Nasir added that five NGOs working under the Sindh Peoples Housing Foundation Project have been contracted under the WB direct contracting method, which would be responsible for collecting SHS from appointed warehouses, distribution, installation and replacement service.

The energy minister stated that the amount per SHS would be received from the beneficiary through a bank challan receipt of Sindh Bank limited by such distribution organisations before the delivery of the system.

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He added that a database management system has been developed through the web portal for the stakeholder coordination and transparency of the program execution.

The CM directed energy minister to appoint independent verification agents (IVAs) to carry out random checks to ensure that SHS was only being distributed to eligible households, to follow up on any reported issues, and to ensure compliance by NGOs.

A dedicated helpline number 021-111-222-262 has been acquired for registering the complaints, he said.