Ahmed Mukhtar Naqshbandi
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) said on Monday that all major airports were operating normally despite a major countrywide power breakdown owing to a reliable backup power system.
No electricity problem at any airport
A spokesperson for the PCCA said that there was no electricity problem at any major airport in the country.
He further said that with the help of a standby power system, an uninterrupted electricity supply was being ensured at the airports.
The spokesperson said that after running on generators for two hours, the regular power supply had been restored at Peshawar airport.
Countrywide power breakdown
Pakistan witnessed a countrywide power breakdown early on Monday morning after the frequency of the national grid suddenly tumbled.
According to the Ministry of Power and Energy, the national grid’s system frequency plunged at 7:34 on Monday morning which led to a countrywide power breakdown. Several cities including Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Quetta, Lahore and Karachi witnessed power outages on Monday morning.
Power Minister Khurrum Dastagir told a private TV channel that the power generation units were usually shut down at night in the winter to save fuel costs.
He said that when the units were being turned on at 7:30 am, frequency variation was witnessed in the national grid between Jamshoro and Dadu. He said that owing to the fluctuation in voltage, the units were shut down one by one. He claimed that the power breakdown was not a major crisis.
He said that the power ministry has started restoring some grid stations in Tarbela and Warsak. By the time of filing of this report, electricity was restored on some grids of the Islamabad Electric Supply Company and the Peshawar Electric Supply Company.
Talking about the breakdown in Karachi, the minister said that the matter in the port city is complicated as it has a complete electric supply system.
The electricity could not be restored in Karachi, however, the power minister claimed that it would be restored in a few hours. He said that the electricity will be fully restored across the country within the 12 hours.
According to Quetta Electric Supply Company, two transmission lines from Guddu to Quetta tripped, plunging 22 districts of the province into darkness.
Till the filing of this report, several major and minor cities were without power. According to some media channels, 90 per cent of grids in Karachi have tripped and K-Electric was in the process of restoring the electricity. A spokesperson for K-Electric said that the cause for the massive breakdown was being investigated.
Spokesperson for IESCO
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the IESCO said power restoration has resumed in the IESCO region after the power breakdown. “Power is being restored in phases on various grids,” the spokesperson said, adding that the power supply to 117 grid stations of IISCO had been affected due to the breakdown.
The IESCO spokesperson said that “direct monitoring of system maintenance from the central control room is going on. Power is being restored in a phased manner at feeders to protect the system from damage.
Power has been restored at a 132 Kv grid station of Zero Point, Rawal, F-16, F-6, D-12, F-6, and power restoration continues at several feeders from Chaklala, Chakri, G-9, Kamra, Adiala, Attock, G-5, Jhelum and Chakwal grid stations. The spokesperson said that power restoration at feeders from other grid stations would also start soon.
