Power supply being gradually restored in cities across Pakistan after major breakdown

Power supply is being gradually restored in cities across Pakistan after major breakdown that occurred on late Saturday night.

Omar Ayub Khan Federal Minister For Power, Petroleum & Natural Resource in a statement on early Sunday said that the restoration work is in progress after a major power breakdown plunged the entire country into darkness.

While addressing a press conference alongside Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shibli Faraz, in Islamabad, the energy minister said that a technical fault was reported at the Guddu power plant at 11:41pm last night when the frequency fell from 50 to zero in seconds.

He added that the matter was being investigated and attempts were being made to restart the Tarbela Power Station and restore supply.

“We energized Tarbela power plant twice, which initiated the restoration process,” he said, adding that electricity has been restored in Islamabad, Faisalabad, Jhang and Multan, while K-Electric has been provided 400MVA.

Omar Ayub added that the teams are facing difficulties due to heavy fog and the exact reason behind the technical fault will be identified once the fog lifts.

“The reason for the breakdown has not been ascertained yet. The technical fault occurred in a particular area,” he said.

Furthermore, the federal ministers criticized past governments for focusing solely on power generation and neglecting the transmission system.

“Under the government of PML-N, the country saw eight major power breakdowns,” said the energy minister.

“When the incumbent government assumed office, no work had been done to upgrade the transmission system. We are now investing in the transmission and distribution system. A $6 billion transmission line has been laid in Matiari,” he added.

The federal minister has also been updating about the power situation on social media in a series of Tweets.