Power supply fully restored in Karachi, says KE

KARACHI: K-Electric Thursday claimed that power supply has returned to normal in Karachi after a major breakdown had plunged several areas of the port city into darkness a day earlier, Geo News reported.

Most parts of Karachi had suffered a sudden power breakdown Wednesday after a high power transmission line tripped.

Speaking about the reasons behind the power breakdown, K-Electric Director Communications Imran Rana said, “The Jamshoro grid station was struck by lightning after which K-Electric and the National Transmission & Dispatch Company (NTDC) immediately started working on restoring the supply.”

He maintained that the task was achieved within a few hours of the power outage.

The power utility company had developed a safety mechanism under which KE plants shift to island mode whenever a fault is detected in the circuit, said Imran Rana.

He said KE plants were not shut down and that of the 1,900 feeders in Karachi that were supplying power to residential and commercial consumers, power was restored to most of them by 11pm.

Most of the feeders that were supplying power to industrial consumers were also energized by 4am, said Rana, adding that the power supply situation in Karachi has returned to normal.

Responding to a question, Imran Rana said field teams faced difficulties due to the rain.

He said that KE cuts off power in areas where water accumulates or where illegal hooks supply power to residents, adding that this step is taken due to safety concerns. He said power is restored to these areas when the field teams are fairly confident that there are no more safety concerns left.

He added that the power utility company is on high alert due to the rain forecast and is trying to prevent further power outages in the city.