LAHORE/KARACHI/QUETTA: The Ministry of Energy stated that a nationwide power outage occurred when the frequency of the national grid decreased early Monday morning.
“The system frequency of the National Grid decreased at 7:34 this morning, which resulted in a widespread breakdown in the power system,” the ministry tweeted. “According to initial reports,” the ministry said.
ابتدائی اطلاعات کے مطابق آج صبح 7:34 پر نیشنل گرڈ کی سسٹم فریکوئنسی کم ہوئ جس سے بجلی کے نظام میں وسیع بریک ڈاؤن ہوا
سسٹم کی بحالی پر کام تیزی سےجاری ہے
— Ministry of Energy (@MoWP15) January 23, 2023
In an interview with Geo News, Power Minister Khurrum Dastagir stated that the power generation units are temporarily shut down at night during the winter in order to save money on fuel costs.
“Frequency variation was reported in the southern part of the country between Jamshoro and Dadu when the systems were turned on one by one at 7:30 this morning. The voltage changed, and each system was turned off individually. Dastagir stated, “This is not a major crisis.”
The minister stated that his department has begun the restoration of some Tarbela and Warsak grid stations.
According to the minister’s assertion, “Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO) and some grids of Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) have already been restored.”
The minister stated that the situation in Karachi is complicated due to the city’s complete electric supply system when discussing the breakdown.
“We typically provide K-Electric with approximately 1,000-1,100 megawatts, but it will be restored within a few hours.” How long it will take to resolve this issue is unknown. However, the minister stated, “My objective is to restore electricity to the nation within the next twelve hours.”
Different power distribution companies had confirmed the breakdown prior to the ministry’s announcement.
The Quetta Electric Supply Company (QESCO) claims that the two transmission lines connecting Guddu and Quetta malfunctioned. In addition, it stated that Quetta is one of 22 Balochistan districts without power.
In the meantime, a power outage was also reported in a number of Karachi neighborhoods.
There are reports of multiple outages from different parts of the city. We are investigating the issue and will keep this space posted.
— Imran Rana, Spokesperson, K-Electric (@imranrana21) January 23, 2023
The cause of the outage was not disclosed by a spokesperson for K-Electric.
According to the spokesperson for IESCO, none of its 117 gird stations had access to electricity.
PESCO, on the other hand, confirmed outages in locations where it supplies electricity.
This is the second country in three months to experience a significant power outage.
Power outages occurred in Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Quetta, Multan, and Faisalabad in October of last year.
The minister of power at the time stated that nearly 8,000 megawatts of power had been cut off.
Dastagir had stated at the time that the government was concerned about the simultaneous faults in two power lines that had triggered the breakdown. Additionally, he had stated that an in-depth investigation had been ordered and promised to take action.
