SOLARIZATION OF HEALTHCARE FACILITIES IN KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA

SOLARIZATION OF HEALTHCARE FACILITIES IN KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA 

(All data obtained from IMU, graphics depiction my own, test is a mixture

Previously, the Department of Health (DoH) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa caused for a survey of its Basic Health Units 

Thereafter it was deemed more critical to carry out such a survey of those facilities which provide 24/7 services to public at the District level. These include the Rural Health Centres through Category D, C, B and A Hospitals. 

The Independent Monitoring Unit was tasked to conduct not only a rapid survey of the healthcare facilities in the province to identify facilities with chronic problems of electricity but also calculate the load for consideration of an option towards solarisation of these facilities. 

The IMU team visited the HCFs from 28th March till 4th April 2017 and has submitted a report bringing out the following essentials: 

1. Out of total 1,258 health facilities surveyed, 60 facilities have no  electricity service, 121 facilities have load shedding of over 10 hours per day and one facility has non-functional electricity due to reasons other than load-shedding; The Rapid Survey then concentrated on 221 RHC till Category A Hospitals. 
2. Overall, 14% of healthcare facilities of the province (excluding THQ and DHQ hospitals) either have no electricity service or have non-functional electricity. [*Sub health centers, TB Clinics, Leprosy Centers]
3. Out of identified health facilities with electricity problems, 33% have no electricity service, whereas 77% have non-functional electricity due to load shedding and/or low voltage.
4. Within the identified facilities with electricity problems, percentage of facilities with non-functional electricity is higher as compared to facilities with no electricity service in all type of facilities (except civil hospitals and MCH centers).
5. Two third of the facilities identified with no electricity service falls in the district of Kohistan and Mansehra. Shangla and Swat have the second highest number of such facilities. 
6. District Battagram has the highest number of facilities with non-functional electricity followed by Abbottabad, Dir Lower, Dir Upper and Peshawar.
7. Duration of the load shedding ranges from 10 – 22 hours per day in facilities where electricity was identified as non-functional due to load shedding. There are 25 healthcare facilities with over 20 hours per day load shedding majority of which are in di strict Battagram.

Thereafter the connected and maximum load were calculated. To clarify:-

Connected Load: The total electric power-consuming rating of all devices (as lamps or motors) connected to a distribution system. 

Example: If a room consists of a total 5 (100) Watt bulbs and 2 (80) Watt fans. Then the total connected Load will be 5*100= 500 watts and 2*80=160 watt . Connected Load = 500+160 = 660 watts.

Maximum Load : Also known as Peak load is the maximum load connected at time.

Example: If a room consists of a total 5 (100) Watt bulbs and 2 (80) Watt fans. Off which 2 bulbs and 1 fan are connected in morning and 3 bulbs and 2 fans are connected at evening. Than the Maximum Load will be of the evening time.  3*100= 300   +   2*80=160

Maximum Load = 300+160= 460 Watts.

Based on the above, the following Connected and Maximum load for the 221 HCFs was calculated:-

Category Wise: Category A

Category Wise: Category B

Category Wise: Category C

Category Wise: Category D

Category Wise: Rural Health Centres

Total Connected and Maximum Load - Service Wise

Total Connected and Maximum Load - Category Wise

Department has carried an in-house Rough Cost Estimate based on load calculation and consultation with private companies in the business. Presently the per kilowatt estimated cost ranges between 4500 to 8000 Pak Rupee (PKR). Above data indicates a total of 3311 kilowatts are required to run the HCFs on solar energy. A rough estimate on the lower side of PRK 4500/KW comes to PKR 14.8 Million. On the higher side @ PKR 4500/kilowatt comes to PRK 26.5 Million. However, number of other factors may influence overall costing including a 3 year after sales service warranty period, technology improving rapidly etc.

The benefits include:

• Clean and Green Energy
• Most importantly, continued provision of services including diagnostics to the public
• Contribution to national cause and economic growth by saving around 3000 kilowatts for the grid and individual feeders which could be diverted towards other enterprises and clients
• Saving on payment of Bills to WAPDA / PESCO

Infact, we are thankful to Mr Shakeel Qadir, the Secretary Finance Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, who has not only got our figure work verified through experts in his EMC, but also indicated what government spends in payment of electricity bills per year. For Financial Year 2017-18 it is PRK 241.433 Million for Account 1 (Provincial Hospitals and entities) and PKR 102.558 Million for Account 4 (District Hospitals) totally around PKR 344 Million. Taking out various offices not part of study, it is a safe bet to say the investment in solarisation of hospitals will pay back within year the actual financial cost - notwithstanding the indirect socio-economic results.

Ends