Power supply to various areas of the country was partially restored on Monday morning, hours after breakdown of a major powerhouse sent most of the country into darkness. The breakdown affected all the major cities including Islamabad‚ Rawalpindi‚ Lahore‚ Quetta‚ Karachi and Peshawar.
While power cuts are common in Pakistan due to chronic underinvestment in electricity infrastructure, outages across the whole country are rare. Late Sunday’s blackout occurred when the HUBCO plant in Balochistan, which generates 1,200 megawatts of electricity in a day, developed a technical fault, a power ministry official said. That breakdown prompted a “cascading effect” which caused plants nationwide to shut down, said Rai Sikandar.
“It was a technical fault in one of our power plants and not in the national grid,” he insisted, adding that electricity was gradually being restored across Pakistan after it remained off for more than two hours. He said that all 24 power stations in the capital Islamabad were working again and electricity was being restored in all parts of the country. “1,200 megawatts of electricity is back in the national grid with the restoration of different power stations,” said the official.
PM NOTICES:
Meanwhile, taking strong notice of the countrywide power failure, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf said in unequivocal terms that no one would be spared and severe action would be taken against anyone found negligent in duties. He was presiding over a high-level meeting to review the energy situation in the country at the PM’s House on Monday.
The meeting was attended by Water and Power Minister Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar, Finance Minister Saleem H Mandviwala, PM’s Adviser on Petroleum Dr Asim Hussain, and senior officials of the Water and Power Ministry.
The meeting was informed that the countrywide power breakdown occurred due to a technical fault, and that electricity had been restored in most parts of the country, and it would be restored in the remaining areas before Monday evening.
The prime minister was also informed that an enquiry committee had been constituted with Member (Power) WAPDA Qasim Khan as its convener to ascertain the reasons behind the breakdown and fix responsibility. The committee would submit its findings along with the recommendations within seven days.
During the meeting, the present demand and supply of electricity as well as the availability of fuel for thermal power plants and provision of gas was discussed in detail.
all a farce. there is no restoration even after 3 days. we here in muzaffargarh are having a loadshedding of 20 hours a day. electricity is supplied only for 4 hours a day on muzaffargarh feeder. constant lies are the incurable habit of the government.
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