Millions in Pakistan in nationwide blackout as power grid fails
- Pakistan faced a major nationwide power breakdown because of ‘reduced frequency’ in the national grid, the energy ministry said in a Twitter message
- It may take up to 12 hours to fully restore the power, the federal energy ministry Khurram Dastgir Khan told a local TV station
Pakistan suffered nationwide power outages on Monday morning due to a “major breakdown” of the national grid, the power ministry said, with factories, hospitals and schools impacted in all its major cities.
Millions were plunged into a blackout prompted by the failure, dealing another blow to the nation already reeling from surging energy costs.
Outages were reported in locations including Karachi, Lahore and capital Islamabad, according to local media reports, and it could take as long as 12 hours to fully restore electricity, Geo TV said, citing Power Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan.
“Electricity blackout in the country due to sudden drop in the frequency of power transmission system resulting in a widespread breakdown,” the Energy Ministry said in a tweet early on Monday.
“System maintenance work is progressing rapidly,” it added, and a limited number of grids in Islamabad and Peshawar have been restored, the ministry said.
