ISLAMABAD: Federal Power Secretary Yousuf Naseem Khokhar has taken a leave of absence from office just two days after a major power cut across the country left citizens in several cities in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa suffering for almost a whole day.
“The power supply being cut off was a repercussion of the Guddu-Muzaffargarh power line tripping, which triggered glitches at Tarbela and Guddu power stations, as well as other power plants,” said a spokesperson for Power Division.
According to media reports, the working relationship between Federal Water and Power Minister Awais Leghari and Khokhar has been on the rocks for the past few days as the latter is under pressure to accept the blame for the massive power failure that affected two provinces.
It was further reported that Khokhar approached the prime minister for the approval of his leave of 14 days, which he said was for personal engagements.
Earlier, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) while taking notice of the power supply breakdown, ordered a probe into the matter.
It is pertinent to mention here that on May 1, 2018, National Transmission Dispatch Company’s (NTDC) 22-kV transmission lines affected Chashma Nuclear Plant which caused an electricity generation loss of approximately 2,100 MW in the country’s northern areas.
NEPRA is expected to conduct a thorough review of NTDC’s performance and a detailed report on the circumstances that led to the two incidents has been summoned as well.
