Abstract:
Pakistan has been facing a financial crisis in recent times. The energy sector is more affected due to the economic situation. More than 70 million people in Pakistan cannot connect to the national grid due to a lack of investment and infrastructure in rural areas. Therefore rural electrification is a major issue. Many micro hydropower plants (MHPs) are installed for rural electrification in northern areas of Pakistan. The benefits to local communities through these MHPs are immediate and substantial, but their sustainability continues to be a major concern over the long term. Without proper sustainability, projects may run into operational problems. Therefore, the research aims to study the long-term sustainability of two installed MHP projects. The research determined the environmental, social, and economic benefits of installed micro hydro power plants. The data has been collected from field observations, questionnaires, and interviews with all relevant stakeholders. The research study determined the overall sustainability of a 100 kW and 70 kW plant in Rajwal and Khainian villages. This research consists of 28 indicators including economic, social, and environmental parameters. The average indicator score is between 1 and 4. The results revealed that the percentage of dimensions evaluated was 97% for economic, 89% for social, and 78% for environmental while the study found that the economic parameter is the highest score at 3.75 followed by social 3.5 and environmental 3.0. The installed MHPs have a significant contribution to the improvement of the economic and social conditions of the selected study area. The results demonstrated that the research study can serve as a basis for sustainability assessment both quantitatively and qualitatively. This model provides a simple way to conduct comparative studies on MHPs that will lead to efficient decision-making.
