Much of Pakistan was affected by a power outage this morning, including the capital, with the cities of Lahore and Karachi still without power.
Power cuts are frequent in Pakistan, which has faced a chronic energy crisis for years and whose distribution system is complex and outdated.
The stoppage, which lasted several hours, was due to a breakdown. This is the second such incident in just two years in this country of more than 220 million people.
“According to initial information, the frequency of the system on the national grid dropped this morning, resulting in a massive blackout,” the Ministry of Energy said on Twitter.
Power was partially restored in the morning in Islamabad and Peshawar, but the main economic hub Karachi with 15 million people and Lahore with 10 million were still without power as of late morning.
The ‘blackout’ had no immediate impact on the healthcare system, as most hospitals have backup generators. Schools, on the other hand, mainly use gas heating to heat the classrooms.
A similar blackout in January 2021 plunged most of the country into darkness for several hours after a fault in the south of the country triggered a chain reaction at several power plants.
Power outages are a recurring problem in Pakistan. But the situation has deteriorated further in recent months, and the country’s dire financial situation has further aggravated power supply difficulties.
Families have been affected, but so has industry, for example in the textile sector, which accounts for about 60% of Pakistan’s exports.
In May 2018, another major ‘blackout’ hit the country, with power remaining partially cut for over nine hours.
In 2015, 80% of the country, including major cities, was plunged into darkness due to a power outage caused, according to the government, by a separatist attack on a high-voltage line in a remote district of Balochistan province. .
The ‘blackout’, one of the worst in Pakistan’s history, even affected one of the international airports.
Source: TSF
