Several Pakistani cities, including Karachi, Quetta, Peshawar, and Lahore, reported widespread blackouts in various parts on Monday morning.
According to Pakistan’s Ministry of Energy, a malfunction in the national grid has caused the nationwide power outage, with power cuts being reported in all major cities.
The ministry stated that a “widespread breakdown in the power system” occurred as a result of a reduction in the national grid’s system frequency on Monday, at around 7:34 am.
“System maintenance work is progressing rapidly,” it added in a tweet. Initial reports state that the supply has been curtailed by up to 90 percent in some locations.
According to the Quetta Electric Supply Company, the two transmission lines from Guddu to Quetta tripped.The firm added that Quetta and 22 other Baloch districts were without electricity.
Saying that “no clear reason has been given by the Region Control Center”, the Islamabad Electric Supply Company reported that 117 grid stations were without electricity.
As the nation struggles with the ongoing economic crisis, Pakistan’s Power Minister Khurrum Dastagir has stated that power generation facilities have been temporarily shut down in an effort to preserve fuel. Although he refused to label it a “major crisis”.
Around 10 am, the Ministry of Energy issued an update stating that the power grid restoration work had started and that some grids, including those run by the Islamabad Supply Company and the Peshawar Supply Company, had been partially revived.
In the midst of widespread power outages around the nation, a number of private power distribution corporations also acknowledged the failure at their end.
In the first week of January, Pakistani officials had issued an order directing marketplaces and shopping centres to close by 8:30 pm as part of a new energy-saving strategy meant to alleviate the country’s economic crisis.
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