With electricity tariff going through the roof, more and more people, especially those from the middle class, were looking for alternatives. Their only option at the moment remains solar energy.

However, this system has its own problem. Due to low local production of solar panels, installation of this system has become costly as its components have to be imported.

Therefore, instead of installing the entire solar panel system, people are opting for fans and room coolers run on solar panels to get relief from inflated electricity bills.

The high demand of these solar panels has led to an increase in their prices, which range from Rs4,000 to Rs10,000.

Air coolers powered by solar energy are effective to keep indoor spaces cool during hot weather. These types of air coolers work on solar panels to generate electricity which powers the fan and pump system that circulates air and water throughout the unit.

Due to high demand of the solar generating power system, a number of shops that sell and install solar panels have cropped up in the city.

If one walks from Fawara Chowk to Liaquat Bagh in Rawalpindi, he or she would find shops dealing with solar energy system, especially those panels that power fans and room coolers.

At present, an amount of Rs300,000 to Rs500,000 was required to convert the house on to solar energy, which, in the words of shopkeepers, was likely to increase in the coming days. Most of the equipment used in the system like solar panels, batteries or inverters were imported while some things used in the installation were locally made.

Solar panels are normally installed on roofs. Material that is required includes roof anchors made of aluminum or steel, a unique key lock system between the roof anchors and the mounting frame, mounting frame, bolts to screw it tightly, clamps to fix the solar panels to the mounting bracket and lastly solar panels.

Ahmed Nabi, the owner of a workshop on College Road, told Dawn that the process of installing solar energy system was simple but technical and more than four workers were involved in the process.

He said last year, installation of a solar energy system did not require that much money, but this year, it has become expensive.

He said with the help of solar energy system, one can run a washing machine, eight fans, lights and refrigerator during the day, adding that during the night, the house owner could consume regular electricity.

“We are also making solar energy system to run air conditioners but it is far more expensive. The price is comparatively high but it saves electricity charges as you can run an air conditioner in the afternoon with solar energy,” he said.

Mohammad Kamran, a consumer at College Road, said electricity tariff was increasing with each passing day, therefore he was exploring the idea of installing solar energy system.

“I am visiting College Road to check the market rate of solar energy system; I found it to be expensive as it required an investment of more than Rs500,000 to Rs600,000,” Mr Kamran said.

Another consumer, Riaz Ahmed, said it was difficult to pay electricity bills and had therefore decided to install solar energy system in his house. He went on to say that it was the duty of the government to provide people loans to promote solar energy.

Meanwhile, the provincial government has decided to transition all government institutions under its jurisdiction to solar energy to reduce the amount in electricity bills.

Through this initiative, these institutions as well as the Punjab government will save billions of rupees annually.

It has been decided to launch the project in November and for this the district administration and the relevant authorities have started making necessary preparations to install solar energy devices in these institutions.

Published in Dawn, September 11th, 2023