Power breakdown in Karachi
The 500 kV power line tripped around 5:30am in the morning.
Dunya News Report (Jibran Dost)
KARACHI: A major power breakdown was experienced in different parts of Karachi city on early Friday morning due to disturbance at Hub-Jamshoro 500 kV transmission line.
According to Ministry of Water and Power, the line tripped due to dense fog. However, K-Electric officials state “The power breakdown was caused due to tripping in the extra high tension wire of 500 kV. A team has been sent to repair the backup power line which is essential for the restoration of electricity.”
A 220 kV line, however, is repaired and now supplying electricity to the K-Electric system, the officials further added.
The 500 kV power line tripped around 5:30am in the morning. All production units including Bin Qasim Power Plant were shut due to disruption.
At the same time, around 80 per cent of Karachi was left in the dark owing to the massive power outage.
The areas affected by the outage included Clifton, Defence, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Nazimabad, Bahadurabad, Lasbela, Federl B Area, I I. Chundrigar Road, Landhi, Korangi, Buffer Zone, Liaquatabad, Shadman, Sadar and many more.
Water Board spokesperson stated that water supply to various locations was also disrupted after pumping stations in Dhabeji, Gharo and North East Karachi stopped functioning.
According to a K-Electric statement on social media, the teams were working hard to recover the system, but did not comment on when power would be restored completely.
Meanwhile, there have been three major power breakdowns in different part of the country over the past one month.
Earlier last week, after a 132 KV main transmission line of Guddu Thermal Power Plant broke down and fell in the river on Friday, five key towers crushed down leading to the power cut in various districts of the country.
Electricity to Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco) was also suspended because of the tripping of transmission lines in Sheikhupura. Several cities including Attock, Jhelum, Multan and Faisalabad were affected by the power cut down.
At the same time, another massive power break down was experienced in the country, a day earlier the transmission line of Guddu Thermal Power Plant broke down, affecting the northern areas of the country.
Mangla and Tarbela power stations also stopped generation and the entire system was forced into ‘island mode’
According to Power Ministry spokesman, transformer problem at Guddu suspended supply of 450 MW. “This caused the tripping of generation facilities in the North,” he added.
Owing to this incident, Lahore and the surrounding areas, faced hours long suspension of electricity. The electricity could not be restored promptly; however it was partially restored around 8pm.
Earlier this month, Pakistan witnessed the first electricity shutdown of the year 2016, when a major transmission line near Muzaffargarh tripped in the morning. The federal capital, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and south-western Punjab including Lahore, faced suspension of electricity.
The damaged electric breaker that coupled with intense fog in the morning resulted in the tripping of Muzafarrgarh-Multan 500 KVa transmission line. Electricity was restored to major cities within two to three hours and electricity to all affected power distribution companies by 4:45pm that day.
