Reuters
NOS News•
Pakistan suffered a massive power outage this morning. An energy-saving measure caused a power outage that knocked out power in all major cities in the country, including the largest city of Karachi, Lahore, Peshawarde and the capital, Islamabad. According to the ministry, the restoration of the power grid has started.
Energy Minister Dastagir said in a statement that at about 7:30 a.m. local time (3:30 a.m. Dutch time), the grid “experienced frequency loss, causing a major outage.” He added that efforts are being made to get the system up and running again.
“In winter, the demand for electricity decreases across the country, so as an economic measure, we temporarily shut down our power generation systems at night,” told the minister to news channel Geo TV. When they were turned back on in the early morning, “frequency variations and voltage fluctuations” were observed in southern Pakistan, which then “turned off power plants one by one.”
Imported fossil fuels
Earlier this month, the government ordered malls and markets to close early every day to save money on power. Most of the country’s electricity is generated from imported fossil fuels. Rising global energy prices have put even more pressure on the country’s financial house.
Some power grids in the country have already been restored and power should be fully restored within 12 hours, Dastagir said. He insisted this was “not a major crisis”.
