40% Karachi Left Without Electricity As Transmission Line Trips: Report

Several parts of Pakistan witnessed massive power outage due to a high-tension transmission line failure yesterday. This further resulted in the failure of many grid stations and left nearly 40 per cent of Karachi in the dark, as per a report in ARY News. 

According to the report, the affected regions included Numaish Chowrangi, Saddar, Lines Area, Punjab Colony, Gulistan-e-Jauhar and Korangi. K-Electric, the company in charge of the city's electricity supply, has not yet issued a formal statement. However, while responding to a user, the company said, "We apologize for the inconvenience you are facing. Maintenance work is being carried out in your area & our teams are on it for early restoration. Your patience will be highly appreciated."

Imran Rana, a spokesperson from the company also spoke to ARY News and informed that "at approximately 7:34am today, the national grid experienced a loss of frequency, affecting the power supply" in several cities across the country. "This has also cascaded to KE's network affecting power supply to Karachi," he stated, adding the power grid network is safe and protected.

Karachi was left in the dark earlier in January when Pakistan was rocked by a significant power outage caused by a frequency fluctuation on the national system. Power was out in all major cities, including Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore and Peshawar.

At that time, a frequency variation was reported in the southern part of the country between the cities of Jamshoro and Dadu when systems were turned on according to Geo TV citing Power Minister Khurrum Dastagir. "There was a fluctuation in voltage and the systems were shut down one by one. This is not a major crisis," Mr Dastagir had said.