NEPRA to probe power breakdown that plunged Pakistan into darkness

ISLAMABAD: National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has taken the notice of Saturday's country-wide blackout. 

The authority said in a statement that a high-powered committee will be constituted to probe the major power breakdown that plunged the entire country in darkness for over 14 hours. 

The committee will consist experts from Nepra and the private sector. It will review the facts and make recommendations to avoid such incidents in future. 

The blackout occurred minutes before midnight across the country, with citizens taking to social media to report outages. As outages hit major cities, mobile and internet services were also affected.

Blackout: After major breakdown, power being restored in cities across Pakistan

Energy Minister Omar Ayub Khan said a technical fault was reported at the Guddu power plant at 11:41pm last night when the frequency fell from 50 to zero in seconds.

“We energised Tarbela power plant twice, which initiated the restoration process," he said, adding that electricity has been restored in Islamabad, Faisalabad, Jhang and Multan, while K-Electric has been provided 400MVA.

Omar Ayub said teams are facing difficulties due to heavy fog and the exact reason behind the technical fault will be identified once the fog lifts. "The reason for the breakdown has not been ascertained yet. The technical fault occurred in a particular area," he said.

He and Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shibli Faraz criticised past governments for focusing solely on power generation and neglecting the transmission system. "Under the government of PML-N, the country saw eight major power breakdowns," said the energy minister.

"When the incumbent government assumed office, no work had been done to upgrade the transmission system. We are now investing in the transmission and distribution system. A $6 billion transmission line has been laid in Matiari."