Even after several hours, power not fully restored in Karachi

Power restoration efforts are underway after the tripping of a high power transmission line resulted in a power outage in a large number of areas in Karachi, besides other areas in Sindh.

According to K Electric, supply has been restored to all residential areas and 1,600 of the total 1,900 feeders that supply electricity to Karachi have been powered up. 

The remaining 300 feeders have still not been energised and consequently, several areas, despite the passage of more than eight hours since the breakdown first occurred, have yet to receive power.

Consumers facing localised faults have been asked to get in touch with the power utility.

The areas to lose power initially included Nazimabad, North Nazimabad, Federal B Area, Saddar, Garden, Malir, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Clifton and Defence. 

A quick telephonic survey among consumers conducted by Geo.tv revealed that Gulshan-e-Iqbal Block 10; Gulistan-e-Jauhar Blocks 7 and 9; Government Teachers Society, Scheme 33, Gulzar-e-Hijri; and Clifton Block 7 all lost power at around the same time — between 4:10pm and 4:20pm. 

A consumer told Geo.tv that just before the outage, there was a pronounced fluctuation in the power supply.

High power transmission lines tripped

Geo News Bureau Chief Faheem Siddiqui said that the high power transmission lines that receive power supply from National Transmission & Despatch Company (NTDC) tripped, resulting in the non functioning of several feeders that supply power to various parts of the city.

'KE teams on high alert, working to restore power'

KE confirmed that a fault had occurred in a 500kV transmission line, which affected power supply to Karachi and some areas of Sindh. It said that it lost contact with NTDC after this occurred.

The power utility said, however, that its plants are on "island mode", which is why power restoration is "underway at a quick pace" and contact with the national grid has also been restored.

"All our teams are on high alert and are striving for power restoration to all parts of the city," according to a KE spokesperson.

In a subsequent update, KE said that supply to all grids has been normalised and "feeder level restoration is underway".

It said power supply is continuing through 1,107 feeders at strategic locations including Dhabeji Water Pumping Station and Karachi Airport. 

KE added that "parts of PECHS, Korangi, Surjani, Gulistan-e-Johar, Clifton, Federal B Area, Shah Faisal have also been restored".

Later in the night, the power utility said power supply to all residential feeders has been normalised, with more than 1,600 feeders working again.

"In case of localised faults, please connect with us via 118 helpline, 8119 SMS service, KE Live app or social media platforms," KE said.

"Our field teams remain active for on-ground power restoration efforts. We are grateful for [the] patience and understanding of KE customers," it added.

Power to other areas of Sindh restored

Meanwhile, power has been restored in Thatta, Mirpur Khas, Umerkot and Sanghar districts, Geo News reported.

About 71 grids of the Hyderabad Electic Supply Company (HESCO), spanning 12 districts were shut down due to a fault on the Jamshoro grid, but power was restored by 7:30pm to all of them.

'500kV Jamshoro switchyard energised'

Earlier, the Ministry of Energy revealed that power supply to KE from NTDC has been restored.

The ministry said that at 4:46pm, the 500kV switchyard at Jamshoro was energised.

Thereafter, the ministry noted that at 4:09, lightning struck a 220kV switchyard of the Jamshoro grid station, "damaging isolator D8Q11 relating to 220kV Jamshoro - Tando Muhammad Khan cct#1".

It said the circuits were subsequently restored.

Citizens unable to register complaints

KE, in response to reports from several Karachi areas of an interruption in power supply, earlier said on Twitter it is "actively monitoring the situation and will keep updating this space".

A consumer reported that they were unable to register a complaint on the KE app. They said that the call centre number 118 and the KE SMS service were also out of order when they tried to go that route.

Resultantly, KE's Twitter account was flooded with queries.

Rain forecast

A lot of the neighbourhoods where a power outage was reported were areas where drizzling was also reported.

The Met department has forecast rainfall for Karachi till September 3. The city is expected to receive heavy rains, dust storms and thunderstorms on September 2 and 3, said Director Met Department Sardar Sarfaraz.

Sarfaraz further stated that thunder cells over the city are likely to form on Wednesday afternoon. 

Substation destroyed in explosion

Earlier this morning, a power substation set up in the SITE industrial area was destroyed by an explosion.

Sources within the police told Geo News a loud explosion took place near Valika Chowrangi at SITE this morning, the sound of which could be heard from afar. The blast caused the walls of the substation to collapse and set fire to the office adjacent to the substation, causing severe damage.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kemari Fida Hussain Januri said it was not immediately clear whether the blast occurred inside the substation or the adjacent plot's underground tank burst due to accumulation of gas.

Januri said that the staff of the bomb disposal squad and K Electric would be able to report on the situation better after inspecting the site.

Edhi Foundation staff rushed to the spot on receiving word of the blast but according to police, no casualties were reported. The fire brigade was also called but the fire was extinguished before they arrived.