Darkness In The Land Of A Thousand Lights: Classic Electric Problems In Pakistan

Photo illustration of city landscape in Pakistan at night (Source: Commons Wikimedia)

JAKARTA - Pakistan is experiencing a national power grid. As a result, the country of 212 million is in darkness. Electricity problems are a classic problem in the Land of a Thousand Lights.

Pakistani Electric Power Minister Omar Ayub Khan said the blackout on Saturday, January 9 was due to "... a sudden drop in frequency in the power transmission system."

Omar called on people across the country to remain calm. To quote CNN, Monday, Jauari 11, 2021, this time the blackout was the most widespread in Pakistan since 2015.

In a statement, the Ministry of Energy described preliminary reports indicating an error had occurred at the Guddu Thermal Power Plant in Sindh Province, southern Pakistan. This caused power plants across the country to shut down.

In Karachi, witnesses reported seeing long lines at gas stations. People rushed to buy gasoline for their home generator that had been running overnight.

“There are long lines outside gas stations in the city. Cars line up when people buy fuel for spare generators. I'm in line. People have been waiting for hours with gas cans in hand, ”said Akbar Saifi, a resident in Karachi.

Photo illustration of a city in Pakistan (Source: Commons Wikimedia)

Efforts are being made to restore electricity in various parts of the country. In most of Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, electricity has not yet recovered.

The information was shared by K-Electric, the company that supplies electricity to the city. On Sunday, January 10, at 6.44am local time to be precise, Omar said electricity had been restored in most parts of the capital, Islamabad. The announcement was made via his Twitter account.

Abdullah Khan, spokesman for PIA, Pakistan's main airline, said all flight operations were still functioning despite the power outage. "All major airports in the country have backup generators," he said.

Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore, Pakistan (Source: Commons Wikimedia)

It's no stranger

Power outages are not uncommon in Pakistan. Most of the hospitals, airports and other large institutions have their own generators.

Those who can afford to often keep gasoline-fired generators at home in the event of a power cut. Pakistan's electricity distribution system is known to be very complex.

Large faults in one section often cause chain reactions and damage to power plant and transmission. Apart from chronic infrastructure problems, the energy sector is also trapped in vicious debt due to the effects of the government setting low electricity prices and customers who fail to pay for it.

A total blackout in 2015 in Pakistan resulted from a damaged power transmission line in what was blamed on an insurgent attack. The blackout, then caused power cuts in 80 percent of the country's area.

Areas recorded as affected include major cities and the capital of Islamabad. The blackout started after midnight, when the transmission line connecting privately owned power plants to the national grid broke down.