In a region where climate disasters have turned survival into a daily struggle, the inauguration of a 500kW community-run micro-hydro powerhouse in Ghizer’s Umalsat valley signals a rare and radiant breakthrough.

Launched on Saturday, the facility now supplies electricity to more than 700 households and businesses—ushering in light, warmth, and economic revival across some of Gilgit-Baltistan’s most remote and flood-battered communities.

Importantly, the company offers subsidised tariffs aligned with government rates, capping household bills at PKR 2,000—even for families using electricity for lighting, cooking, and heating.

Inauguration ceremony of the hydropower plant. Photo: Shabbir Mir

The timing is critical. Ghizer district, like much of Gilgit-Baltistan, has been grappling with t

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