Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered an inquiry into the power outage in Pakistan that took place at around 7:34 am on January 23 and left many cities including Karachi, Lahore, Quetta and Islamabad without electricity, reported Geo TV.
The National Grid’s frequency dropped around 7:34 am, leading to a “widespread breakdown” in the electricity system. Moreover, it stated that Warsak was the starting point for the repair of grid stations, as per the statement from Pakistan’s Ministry of Energy.
However, electricity has still not been fully restored nationwide, which is hindering companies and the daily lives of more than 220 million people.
According to Geo TV, the outage lasted for more than 16 hours, especially when temperatures were forecasted to fall to around 4 degrees Celsius (39°F) in Islamabad and 8 degrees Celsius (46°F) in Karachi.
The blackout, which Energy Minister Khurram Dastagir claimed was caused by a power surge, is the second significant grid breakdown in three months and adds to the nearly daily blackouts Pakistan’s population experiences.
Citing the sources AAJ News reported, that the power outage occurred after a technical fault was reported in the transmission line from Guddu to Quetta, causing the reduction of the power frequency from the optimum level.
Sources also revealed that Sindh, Punjab, and Islamabad regions were impacted by the power breakdown. The complete restoration of electricity might take time. It is the second power outage reported over the past four months in Pakistan which is currently dealing with the energy crisis and high energy costs.
Islamabad Electricity Supply Company (IESCO), which provides electricity to Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Attock, Jhelum, Chakwal and parts of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) said that the power supply to 117 grid stations of its company has been suspended, as per the news report.
“Power supply to 117 grid stations of ISCO has been suspended yet no clear reason has been given by the Region Control Centre. ISCO management is in constant communication with the concerned authorities”, tweeted IESCO.
(with inputs from ANI)
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