ISLAMABAD ( WEB DESK )
Power supply in parts of Pakistan has been partially restored after the country was hit by a massive blackout early Sunday, with the Ministry of Energy blaming it on a sudden drop in frequency that tripped the entire system.
As per details, power supply in Islamabad’s red zone and other important areas has been restored while electricity in parts of Lahore, Faisalabad, Kasur and Sheikhupura remains suspended.
Power supply in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) including Peshawar, Charsadda, Mardan andd Abbotabad has been restored. In Sindh, Larkana, Mirpur Khas and Nawab Shah Division are still facing breakdown; however, Karachi’s Orangi Town, SITE and Nazimabad have been energized.
The electricity distribution system in the nation of more than 210 million people is a complex — and delicate — web, and a problem in one section of the grid can lead to cascading breakdowns countrywide.
The latest blackout was caused by a fault in southern Pakistan at 11:41 pm local time on Saturday, power minister Omar Ayub Khan tweeted, citing preliminary reports.
“The fault tripped the transmission system of the country… leading to the shutdown of power plants,” Khan said.
A spokesman of the Ministry said the initial fault occurred at Guddu power station at 2341 hrs, dropping the frequency to zero. It tripped within a second, causing a cascading effect and all power houses tripped, one after the other.
Minister of Power Omer Ayub Khan in a tweet said all emergency teams were operational and trying to restore the system. He said efforts were afoot to find out the cause of frequency drop that triggered the tripping of the nationwide power transmission system.
The National Transmission and Dispatch Centre said efforts were afoot to first put Tarbella power house back on line.
Omer Ayub said he was personally supervising the restoration operation from the National Power Control Central (NPCC). Without specifying a time limit, he said it would take some time before the entire generation system was back on line.
Ministry of Power asked the people not to be misled by any rumors, as it was a technical issue that was being addressed. The spokesman hoped that the system would be back on line soon.