The government said on Thursday evening that the hours-long power breakdown that affected Sindh and Balochistan as well as parts of Punjab has been resolved and power supply has been restored. However, many areas in these areas complained that they are yet to see power restoration in their area.
Parts of the national grid that supplies power to the southern half of Pakistan suffered major transmission breakdowns on Thursday due to a fault in two 500-kilovolt power lines supplying electricity to metropolitan Karachi.
After giving a deadline of 8 pm to restore power, power was gradually restored in the affected areas from evening onwards.
However, due to one hour more than the deadline set by the Federal Minister of Energy, Engineer Khurram Dastgir, there was a report of power shortage in many areas.
Some areas even reported that they received power briefly before it disappeared again.
However, the power ministry blamed the fault on two 500 KV transmission lines that supply water to Karachi.
The ministry added that they have increased power supply to the city through alternative power generation units and expected to restore normal power supply to the city by Friday morning.
بجلی کی ترسیل کا نظام پورے ملک میں مکمل بحال کر دیا گیا ہے
— Ministry of Energy (@MoWP15) October 13, 2022
آج صبح کراچی کے جنوب میں 5سو کے-وی دو لائنوں میں آنے والےخلل کو دور کر دیا ہے
بجلی کے متبادل کارخانوں سے بجلی کی رسد بڑھائی جا رہی ہے جو کہ جمعتہ المبارک کی صبح تک معمول پر آجائے گی pic.twitter.com/NIRWaWc4Cz
نیشنل پاور کنٹرول سینٹر اسلام آباد کا جمعرات کی شب سیکرٹری پاور کے ہمراہ دوبارہ دورہ کیا
— Engr. Khurram Dastgir-Khan (@kdastgirkhan) October 13, 2022
ہNTDC کے تمام اہل کاران اور افسران کو سراہا جنہوں نے پورا دن متاثرہ علاقوں میں بجلی بحالی کے لیے انتھک کام کیا
»« pic.twitter.com/BIQ1HUQaYF
National Disturbance
Earlier on Thursday, Federal Energy Minister Khurram Dastgir had confirmed that a large part of the National Grid has come under disruption. He further said that efforts are underway to fully restore power in southern parts of the country by 8 pm.
Addressing a news conference in Islamabad on Thursday, Dastgir confirmed that several areas across the country, including Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Quetta, Multan and Faisalabad, have been affected by major power breakdown since morning.
As a result of the breakdown, there was a ripple effect that knocked out many power plants and grid stations across the country.
The affected power distribution companies and adjoining areas are MEPCO – serving Multan and adjoining areas, and K-Electric – affecting Karachi Division and its surrounding areas.
The breakdown disrupted power supply in parts of southern Punjab including Karachi and Multan, Muzaffargarh. Most areas of Balochistan are also affected.
The minister said that the problem has been partially resolved in Multan and Faisalabad and in Sukkur, Dadu and Shikarpur.
He said that Karachi and Quetta are priority areas now.
He asserted that around 8,000 MW power went offline around 9 am but the government has restored around 4,700 MW power.
“It will take time to restart the power plants so the full resolution of the problem will take a few more hours.”
مُلک کے جنوبی ٹرانسمیشن سسٹم میں حادثاتی خرابی کے باعث متعدد جنوبی پاور پلانٹس مرحلہ وار ٹرِپ ہو رہے ہیں جس سے مُلک کے جنوبی حصے میں بجلی کی ترسیل میں رکاوٹ آ رہی ہے۔وزارتِ توانائی پوری تندہی سے خرابی کی وجہ کی تفتیش کر رہی ہے اور جلد از جلد بجلی کے نظام کو مکمل بحال کر لیاجائگا
— Ministry of Energy (@MoWP15) October 13, 2022
He expressed concern as to how two power lines were simultaneously damaged, adding that an in-depth inquiry has been ordered and a team has been constituted for the purpose.
The minister said that we will take action after receiving the inquiry report. “Due to our efforts, the northern part of the country remained unaffected by the breakdown.”
On the directions of Minister for power @kdastgirkhan , High level inquiry committee has been formulated to ascertain the facts pertaining to the partial break down. pic.twitter.com/Jrnj9YAawz
— Ministry of Energy (@MoWP15) October 13, 2022
Faults In Transmission System Trigger Power Breakdowns.
A fault in the national power transmission system led to a power breakdown in the country on Thursday morning, which particularly affected the southern part of the country.
According to the statement issued by the Power Division, many power plants are tripping due to the fault.
He said that there was a disruption in power supply, adding that the Ministry of Power was working to restore the supply.
According to the Ministry of Electricity, the power plants of Mapco and K Electric have been affected due to the fault, which has caused breakdown in some parts of South Punjab including Karachi and Multan, Muzaffargarh.
Many areas of Karachi, including Golimar, Nazimabad, North Nazimabad, Shadman, Bufferzone, have been deprived of electricity since morning.
A spokesman for K Electric, the city’s power distributor, said they were trying to find the cause of the power outage.
There are reports of transmission line trips due to moisture.
The Ministry of Power has sought a detailed report from K Electric and Mapco.
