Amman: The Higher Steering Committee for the Fils Al Reef programme in Jordan, led by Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Dr. Saleh Kharabsheh, has approved the connection of 131 homes and sites to the electricity grid in January, with a total investment of JD652,000.
According to Jordan News Agency, the decision includes a range of projects and sites to be powered under the Fils Al Reef programme. These new beneficiaries encompass residential areas and economic activities, as the service expands under amended criteria for electricity connection.
Hisham Momani, Director of the Ministry's Electricity and Rural Electrification Directorate, detailed that the decisions involve residential blocks of five houses outside designated urban planning zones, costing JD142,000. Additionally, blocks of at least three houses were included at JD51,000, alongside detached houses benefiting from existing networks at JD41,000.
The lists also support low-income families within urban planning zones in the electricity companies' concession areas at JD4,000, aiding people with limited income. Further support extends to poultry, cattle, sheep, and fish farms in designated poverty-stricken areas at JD35,000, and farms with artesian wells at JD36,000, enhancing food security.
An investment of JD292,000 is allocated to productive, industrial, and investment projects in poverty-stricken areas, facilitating job creation for local Jordanians. Projects also include lighting roads leading to cemeteries, valued at JD6,000, and providing electricity to government sectors, agricultural cooperatives, and charitable organizations at JD39,000.
In alternative energy initiatives, the committee approved the installation of grid-connected solar photovoltaic systems for six homes of low-income households and National Aid Fund beneficiaries, aiming to reduce energy costs and improve their financial conditions.