Candlelight Sehri: Major power outage in Karachi on first day of Ramazan

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KARACHI: Electricity supply was restored in different parts of the city including Lyari, Bufferzone, Gulshan, and Gulistan-e-Johar through a backup after citizens were forced to greet a notorious, unwelcome guest – load-shedding – on the first of Ramazan on Sunday. 

NTDC MD Dr. Fiaz Ahmad Chaudhry said the matter was being looked into, and the investigation into the reason for the breakdown would be complete by afternoon. 

The power outage is also expected to affect water supply in the city. K-Electric claimed that it was in the process of restoring power supply to major water pumping stations including Dhabeji and Pipri stations.  

A major power outage was experienced in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Gulistan-e-Johar, Malir, FB Area, Liaquatabad, Landhi, Kharadar, North Karachi, Sir Syed Town, Shadman Town, Keamari, among others, as the clocks ticked to the time to start fasting.

The electricity breakdown also continued in Gulshan-e-Hadeed, Quaidabad, Steel Town, Hub, Maripur, Mochko, Naval Colony, and surrounding areas.

According to a National Transmission and Despatch Company Limited (NTDC) spokesperson, the power outage occurred due to an extra high-tension line tripping early Sunday morning, causing generators in Jamshoro and Hubco power plants to shut down.

The spokesperson added that electricity has been provided to restart the affected generators.

The impact on Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (HESCO) was significantly higher in comparison, the NTDC spokesperson noted, explaining that the national grid usually supplies 550 MW of power to Karachi.

"Power is expected to resume from Jamshoro and Hubco power plants in approximately 2 hours," the spokesperson said.

K-Electric spokesperson Sadia Dada, on the other hand, stated that the process to restore power is underway with the help of Water and Sewerage Board’s installations. The official added that power at Dhabeji and Pipri pumping stations has been resumed.

Almost 50-60 percent of the metropolis faces a lack of electricity at present, Dada said, reiterating the same reason behind the power outage as that of the NTDC spokesperson.

“A 500-KV Jamshoro transmission line caused the power outage,” Dada explained, adding that efforts are underway to normalise the impacted areas.