LAHORE: Yet another
power breakdown hit the
country on Wednesday morning, which is being blamed this time on smog that led to tripping of several
power plants near Lahore. Unlike previous
Major breakdowns caused by transmission lines failures, the latest electricity crisis has been blamed on tripping and technical fault related to four
power generation plants located in the surrounding areas of the provincial capital. The
power shortfall that hovered around 2,500mw before the
breakdown surged by over 5,000mw from 7am on Wednesday, causing over 50 per cent shortfall in
power demand and supply. Following the initial
breakdown of about four hours in the provincial metropolis and its surrounding areas, the outages are being witnessed across the province as one hour
power suspension is being done every hour. The worst affected
power utilities included LESCO, FESCO, GEPCO and MEPCO. It is learnt that Baloki, Nishat, Nishat Chunian and Guddu
power plants tripped early morning, cutting 2,500mw
power supply as a result of cascading effect. The Lahore Electricity Supply Company's (LESCO) quota reduced to 1,100mw from 2,000mw following the tripping of
power plants. The abrupt cut in
power supply caused immense problem for the masses. There is silence from
power Division, Ministry of Energy, right from minister in charge, spokesman to
power utilities and other institutions over the province-wise
Major power breakdown.A senior official of the
power Division said tripping of plants was limited to Lahore and its surrounding areas. He said the NTDC, however, could best explain the
power situation.Sources said Wednesday's
power breakdown was the first
Major electricity failure witnessed upcountry. The intensity of smog this winter was far less if compared to last year. Moreover, the NTDC spent millions of rupees in washing
power lines but the tripping problem is yet to be over. With
power generation coming to the minimum level after reduction in water outflows from Tarbela and Mangla Dams, the national grid is facing pressure as far as widening gas demand and supply is concerned. A couple of days back,
Major RLNG-based
power plants in Punjab had to stop working due to dearth of natural gas. Such eventualities and imbalance between North-South
power generation plants and stability of national grid was at stake.The sources were of the view that the causes of successive
power failures should not be overlooked and concrete measures be taken to avoid their recurrence. Such
power suspensions proved an obstacle in running industrial and commercial sectors smoothly. The ordeal of domestic consumers are also another source of concern, which needs to be given due attention by
power managers.Meanwhile, later at night, the spokesman of the National Transmission and Despatch Company Limited (NTDC) has said that
power system of the
country has been normalized after hectic efforts. All transmission lines, grid stations and
power plants tripped due to severe fog have been restored.The NTDC spokesman said NTDC teams and Distribution Companies (DISCOs) engineers were mobilized immediately, whose untiring efforts resulted in timely restoration of the system. Ministry of Energy (Power Division) also appreciated the joint efforts of NTDC, NPCC and DISCOs.
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