Daily Times

LAHORE – A major power breakdown on Thursday left different parts of Pakistan without electricity, with authorities citing technical fault as a reason behind blackout that occurred for the second time in a week.

Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Gujranwala and several other areas affected by power outages due to a technical fault at the Guddu Power Station.

The power supply was halted to various districts as fire erupted at main transformer of Guddu Thermal Power House in Kashmore while the electricity had also been suspended to Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) after transmission lines in Sheikhupura tripped.

The LESCO officials assured to have started inspection into the matter. However, they said technical glitch was developed in the power grid that resulted in huge flames. Mangla and Tarbela power stations had also stopped electricity supply.

The outage was affecting large number of cities including Attock, Jhelum, Multan and Faislabad, said officials. People in various localities are facing hardship because of the widespread breakdown however, restoration work has been launched.

Grid stations in Islamabad, Lahore and Gujranwala are said to have tripped after the fault at Guddu Power Station, leaving large swathes of the country without electricity.

The power breakdown also affected the proceedings of the National Assembly when the lower house of the Parliament plunged into darkness during a debate.

Earlier, Minister of State for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali informed the National Assembly that construction work on Dasu Dam project would be executed in the next few months. He said that the project cost is 486,093.30 million rupees.

The minister said that the World Bank had approved the financing of Stage-I of Dasu Hydropower project. He also informed the House that work on Munda Dam would also be started by the end of this year. He said that the dam was in study phase and its detailed engineering design, preparation of PC-I and tender documents are in progress.