Buksh Energy is the first energy servicing private entity distribute the low cast Led lights. After having converted a vast range of bank branches and ATM networks to Solar energy solutions, Buksh Energy now aims to provide low cost LED lighting and help conserve energy sources in Pakistan. As the Energy crisis builds, Buksh Energy’s objectives for 2014 remain not to increase energy solutions but rather the need for optimum energy solutions. The Chairman of Buksh Group (the parent company of Buksh Energy Pvt. Ltd.) Mr. Asim Buksh said; “If renewable energy generation options are not adopted, the power shortage will become more acute – to 19000 MW by 2020, solar power generation is the cheapest source of energy,” he said.The company believes that efficiency is the key for which reason the company conducts thorough energy audits to ensure the elimination of any non-compliance of any form. Throughout the energy scenario in Pakistan, other companies are also following suit in terms of energy audits conducted industry wide. Prior to LED lights Buksh Energy Pvt. Ltd. has been offering Smart Grid solutions to its various publics.The title of the project, “Lighting a Million Lives”, suggests that the final aim of the project is much larger, but the social and economic welfare of several communities has already been enhanced by this undertaking. According to the Buksh Foundation’s website, about 21,750 people’s lives have so far been impacted in 53 villages of Mianwali, Dera Ismail Khan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Chiniot, Sahiwal, Lodhran and Bahawalpur. Although most of these villages are in Punjab, the project is expanding to other provinces and one village in Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is a test case.Providing power grids to these areas had not been possible in the past because their sparse rural populations would not make the endeavour cost-effective, which is all the more daunting during Pakistan’s current energy crisis. The inaccessibility and lack of infrastructure makes it even more challenging to supply power to these villages from the grid. Now, not only has this project provided these areas with a cheap and sustainable source of energy, it has had a transformative impact on communities. Farmers and cottage industries are no longer solely dependent upon the sun as a source of light and can work more and hence earn more. People no longer have to travel long distances and pay exorbitant rents to charge their cell phones. But most importantly, poor rural women have been turned into small business owners. One of the main reasons that women are oppressed in Pakistan is because of their social and financial dependence upon the men in their families. Being the operators of charging stations affords a degree of financial independence and a significant role in the community to these women, thus empowering them. Moreover, grassroots campaigns such as this can have large scale impacts. The Buksh Foundations says, “With one million lanterns we can reduce 1.5 million tons of CO2 produced and save around Rs. 25 billion and reduce Pakistan’s oil imports by six percent per year.This project is the perfect example of what small, underdeveloped communities need in Pakistan.
pk.shafaqna.com
