People
Equipping c. 250,000 people with access to safer and more efficient electricity connections.
| Company | GuarantCo |
| Sector | Power/Energy |
| Country | Pakistan |
| Total Project Cost | USD 50.1m |
| PIDG Commitment |
|
| Dates of PIDG involvement |
|
In Pakistan, almost a fifth of electricity generated is lost during the transmission and distribution to consumers. The losses are both technical resulting from poor infrastructure and non-technical, related to faulty metering and theft.
In particular, the electrical grid in Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi, faces many challenges. Due to rapid, unplanned urban growth, widespread poverty and the system of overhead cables, people regularly steal power from the grid and electrocutions are common. The city’s grid is managed by K-Electric, a 100-year-old energy company, which needed to reinvent the way it dealt with electrical safety and security to turn this situation around.
PIDG provided a USD 50 million dual currency guarantee backed loan for K-Electric to support the rollout of aerial bundled cable and smart grid solutions, and other distribution network maintenance initiatives. The insulated cable rollout was aimed at decreasing theft and safety related risks, such as electrocution. Combined, these initiatives enhanced KE’s capacity to service growing consumer demand.
Through a technical assistance grant, PIDG also co-funded an award-winning programme to train the country’s first-ever female electricians, the Roshni Bajis, to deliver safety awareness and engagement programmes within the community.
Equipping c. 250,000 people with access to safer and more efficient electricity connections.
The Roshni Baji programme was instrumental in breaking gender barriers through the training and empowerment of the country’s first 200 female electricians. To date, they have reached over 350,000 households with electrical safety information and support.
