Power Outage: Pakistan Plunges Into Darkness

Islamabad: A grid failure was reported to have caused a significant power outage in Pakistan on Monday morning. The system is currently being restored, according to the authorities.

In a tweet, the Pakistani Ministry of Energy said that the widespread failure of the power system was caused by a drop in the frequency of the national grid, which caused the power outage.

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

According to Geo TV, numerous power distribution companies had already confirmed the power outage prior to the ministry’s announcement.

The two transmission lines from Guddu to Quetta tripped resulting in the outage, said Quetta Electric Supply Company (QESCO). In addition, Quetta and 22 other Balochistan districts have plunged into darkness. Numerous locations in Lahore and Karachi also reported power outages.

Up to 117 grid stations in Islamabad are without power. A power outage has also affected Peshawar.

A similar blackout occurred in 2021 due to a “technical fault” at a power plant in Sindh province in southern Pakistan. This blackout was brought on by a sudden reduction in the frequency of the power transmission system from 50 to 0 in less than a second. It produced a domino effect that ultimately brought down the entire electrical infrastructure. A day later, however, the power supply was restored.