Power breakdown in Pakistan: How long will it take to restore electricity supply?

Complete restoration of the electricity supply in Pakistan after the countrywide power breakdown would take up to 12 hours, Energy Minister Khurram Dastagir Khan said on Monday.

The country was hit by a major electricity breakdown due to a "variation in frequency" in the country's South this morning that left major cities including Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore and others without power.

The minister told Geo News that the power plants are temporarily switched off at night — as an economic measure to save fuel — due to less consumption of electricity in winter.

“When the units were turned on at 7:30am this morning one by one, frequency variation was reported in the southern part of the country between Jamshoro and Dadu. There was a fluctuation in voltage and the power generation units were shut one by one due to cascading impact. This is not a major crisis,” Dastagir insisted.

He said that the grid stations in the federal capital and Peshawar, while the supply in Karachi will be restored in the next few hours. However, he said, the complete restoration of power may take 12 hours.

"Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO) and some grids of Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) have already been restored," the minister claimed.

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 of its own.

"We provide K-Electric about 1,000-1,100 megawatts routinely, however, it will be restored within a few hours. It is not certain how long will it take to sort this issue. However, my target is to restore electricity in the country in the next 12 hours," the minister maintained.