Micro Hydro Power Resource & Services Centre in Chitral, Pakistan

International experience has shown that it is almost impossible to operate technical infrastructure in rural areas on a sustainable basis without the support of regular and effective maintenance and repair services. This is the case in Chitral, a land locked district in Pakistan where many of the micro hydro power plants were built prior to 2009, are poorly designed and are operated by inadequately trained personnel. Consequently, the region suffers from frequent loss of power and an unreliable electricity supply. Systematic maintenance and repair services are often non-existent and it can take weeks or even months for repairs to be carried out. Therefore, this project aims to improve the reliability and sustainability of micro hydro power plants in Chitral by providing systematic training sessions to ensure that high quality operations and maintenance services are locally available. The specific objectives of the project are:

• To set up an MHP Resource and Service Centre in Chitral (MRSC), consisting of a workshop for major repairs to MHP equipment
• To provide facilities for regular operator training sessions
• To monitor and evaluate the effects of the ongoing training, operations and maintenance services and present the results at a dissemination workshop