Punjab, K-P suffer power breakdown after technical fault
Punjab, K-P suffer power breakdown after technical fault
News Desk
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PESHAWAR: A spokesperson of Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) Lahore said on Wednesday that power supply has been restored in parts of Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Muzafargarh, Multan, DG Khan, Peshawar and Mardan.

PESHAWAR: A spokesperson of Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) Lahore said on Wednesday that power supply has been restored in parts of Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Muzafargarh, Multan, DG Khan, Peshawar and Mardan.

A technical fault at the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) resulted in the suspension of electricity in parts of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa early Wednesday morning.

An official in the power division told Radio Pakistan that the power generation had earlier dropped to 11800 MW. It was now at 12000MW. He added that Ghazi Barotha has been synchronized and connected to the national grid while gradual restoration of individual 132KV grids and 11KV feeders was in progress.

Majority of areas in Lahore, including the Punjab Assembly, experienced power failure causing lawmakers to abandon the session. Meanwhile, Benazir Hospital in Rawalpindi also saw chaos as patients, doctors faced hardships due to the prolonged power failure.

Other cities including Vehari, Sahiwal, Rahim Yar Khan, Kasur, Faisalabad were also deprived of electric power, while parts of K-P experienced a 10-minute breakdown.

According to Radio Pakistan, four nuclear power plants at Chashma also tripped due to tripping of main transmission line of Tarbela. A spokesperson of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission told Radio Pakistan that nuclear plants will be re-connected to the national grid once fault in main transmission line is rectified.

An official from the WAPDA said that the supply was affected after an NTDC system tripped. “It will take a couple of hours to repair functions. The supply to grid stations will be gradually restored.”

“A single fault affects the entire power supply system from Karachi to Islamabad,” he added.

spokesperson for Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO) Shaukat Afzal said an inquiry will be conducted to determine the reason for the fault. He added that all grid stations of the province were restored.

A spokesperson of the power division said that the technical fault had affected Tarbela, Mangla and Ghazi Barotha power plants. However, the supply had been restored. He added that  the protection system installed in the transmission system in Sindh and Balochistan had saved the provinces from power shut down.