LAHORE/KARACHI/QUETTA/ISLAMABAD: Nationwide power breakdown due to “frequency variation” in the National Grid on Monday morning left large parts of the country without power, including Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar and Quetta. done.
Power Minister Khuram Dastgir said that as an economic measure to save fuel costs, power generating units are temporarily shut down at night.
“When the systems were switched on one by one at 7:30 am today, a change in frequency was reported between Jamshoro and Dadu in the southern part of the country. The voltage fluctuated and the generating units switched off one by one. It is not a major crisis,” the federal minister said as the country plunged into darkness for the second time in four months.
ابتدائی اطلاعات کے مطابق آج صبح 7:34 پر نیشنل گرڈ کی سسٹم فریکوئنسی کم ہوئ جس سے بجلی کے نظام میں وسیع بریک ڈاؤن ہوا
— Ministry of Energy (@MoWP15) January 23, 2023
سسٹم کی بحالی پر کام تیزی سےجاری ہے
The minister said that his ministry has started restoring some grid stations in Tarbela and Warsak.
“Some grids of Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO) and Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) have already been restored,” claimed the minister.
Talking about the breakdown in Karachi, the minister said that the issue is complicated in the port city as it has a complete power supply system.
“We normally supply around 1,000-1,100 MW to K-Electric, however, it will be restored in a few hours. It is not sure how long it will take to resolve the issue. However, my target country I am power restoration. Next 12 hours,” said the minister.
Before the announcement by the Ministry of Energy, various electricity distribution companies had confirmed the breakdown.
According to Quetta Electric Supply Company (KESCO), 22 districts of Balochistan including Quetta are deprived of electricity due to tripping of two transmission lines.
Karachi Power Update
Meanwhile, K Electric spokesperson Imran Rana said that at around 7:34 am today, the National Grid experienced a frequency drop, affecting power supply to several cities in Pakistan.
“This has also affected KE’s network affecting power supply to Karachi,” Rana said, adding that KE’s network is safe and secure.
“Our teams are actively monitoring the situation and enabling recovery efforts.”
An ISCO spokesperson said that 117 of its grid stations are without power.
Meanwhile, Pesco also confirmed outages in areas where it supplies electricity.
This is the second time in four months that a country has experienced a major power breakdown.
Previous disorder.
In October last year Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Quetta, Multan and Faisalabad faced power outage.
At that time, the power minister had said that around 8000 megawatts of electricity went offline.
At the time, Dastgir had said that the simultaneous failure of two power lines, which led to the breakdown, was a cause of concern for the government at the same time. He also announced that a thorough inquiry has been ordered and promised action.
Timeline of power breakdown in Pakistan
The country’s generation and distribution network has experienced eight major power breakdowns over the past nine years.
In 2014 and 2017, faults at the Tarbela power station caused nationwide blackouts, while in 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023, fog, frequency variation and faults at the Guddu power plant were blamed for the faults. .
Each time the party in power announced a comprehensive inquiry and vowed to rectify the issues, but nothing happened despite several enquiries.
