WEB DESK
Residents of Karachi, Islamabad, and other major cities were left without power on Monday morning as a widespread electricity breakdown hit the country.
Power Minister Khurram Dastgir said that the government was hoping to restore electricity in the country by midnight.
“Target is to restore power by 22:00 (10pm) local time but trying to restore much before that,” the minister told Reuters.
According to the ministry of energy, “The system frequency of the National Grid went down at 7:34 this morning, causing a widespread breakdown in the power system.”
System maintenance work is progressing rapidly, the tweet added.
The electricity breakdown hit Karachi, Hyderabad, Matiari, Mirpurkhas, Tharparkar, Tando Muhammad Khan, Badin, Thatta, Umarkot, Tando Allahyar, Sanghar, Quetta, Islamabad, Lahore, Multan, and other cities.
Electricity was suspended in various areas of Karachi around 7:30 am and around 90% of the city was without power.
The areas where the electricity supply was suspended include Gulistan Johar, Gulshan Jamal, Rashid Minhas Road, Korangi, Malir, Qayyumabad, Old City area, and others.
“There are reports of multiple outages from different parts of the city. We are investigating the issue and will keep this space posted,” K-Electric spokesperson Imran Rana said.
The breakdown hit all the districts of Balochistan as well.
According to Quetta Electric Supply Company (QESCO), the two transmission lines from Guddu to Quetta tripped. It added that 22 districts of Balochistan, including Quetta, were without power.
The Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) spokesperson said that its 117 gird stations were without electricity. No reason was intimated by the regional control centers so far for the power breakdown, he said.
The IESCO administration was in continuous touch with the relevant quarters in this regard, he said.
The energy ministry, however, put the original breakdown down to faults in the low system frequency of the national grid causing a widespread breakdown in the power system across the country.
Efforts are currently underway to restore power to affected areas, but the cause of the breakdown remains unclear.
Officials have urged residents to exercise caution and report any suspicious activity related to the power outage
All major airports operating as per routine
A spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on Monday said all major airports were operating as per their routine amid a major electricity breakdown in the country, under an effective alternative power system.
“There is no power problem at any major airport,” he said while sharing the situation at the country airports during the electricity outage.
The spokesman said uninterrupted electricity supply was being ensured with the help of a standby power system at the airports.
After running on generators for two hours, he said the normal power supply had been restored at Peshawar airport.
