KARACHI: Power supply to this mega-metropolis city has been partially restored Sunday morning after overnight almost complete blackout, as the 500 KV Jamshoro transmission line had tripped unleashing a major breakdown, Geo News reported.
Sources said that the breakdown at the Jamshoro power station has by now been repaired and out of the 64 tripped grid stations, 10 of them have started functioning, partially restoring the electricity supply to parts of Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Federal B Area, Azizabad, Defence, Clifton etc., but most of the areas in Malir, Bin Qasim, Shah Faisal Colony, Quaidabad and Ladhi still remained without electricity.
On the other hand, a 72 inch dia Dhabeji pumping station had exploded due to frequent suspension of power supply. MD Water Board, Misbah Farid said that the 72 inch diameter Dhabeji pumping station exploded due to repeated interruption in power supply, which has resulted in 20 crore gallons of less water supply to the city. He said the supply of water to Karachi would be restored with the restoration of power.
Meanwhile, the hapless citizens have no alternative but to suffer the miseries unleashed by the twin disaster of power and water supply worst breakdown for over 12/14 hours by now.
Earlier on Saturday at around 8.00 P.M the sudden blackout took place due to Jamshoro transmission line of 500KV tripped causing immense inconvenience to the citizens in this holy month of Ramazan. Eid shopping was badly hit by the electricity collapse. Worshippers offering Tarawih prayers in mosques also faced problems. Areas from Saddar to Gulshan-e-Hadeed plunged into darkness after three main transmission lines of electricity - two 220 KV and one 132 KV lines - tripped due to unknown reasons.
Reports indicated that the power breakdown hit Saddar, Garden, Lyari, Malir, Gulshan-e-Hadeed, various parts of District East, West, and Central.
KESC spokesman said the cause of the power breakdown was not identified but the restoration of the system was under way. He claimed that 20 out of 64 grid stations of the city were shutdown due to the tripping of the main lines but expressed hope that electricity would be restored within an hour. He believed an attempt to steal electricity wire of high-tension line or any dust or thunderstorm in a far-flung area may have caused the incident.
In a statement issued late on Saturday night, the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation said that KESC's technical teams have been dispatched to fix the grids. It was stated that the KESC CEO had personally visited the control room and ordered the restoration work.