Thursday’s blackout was not the first in Pakistan’s recent history, the people of the country have paid the price of the government’s incompetence. During Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s government in 2021, the country was plunged into darkness for several hours.
This was Pakistan’s fourth major power breakdown in the last seven years. In May 2018, the power supply was partially disrupted for more than nine hours.
In 2015, an apparent rebel attack on a key power line plunged about 80% of Pakistan into darkness.
On Thursday morning Sindh, Balochistan and some other parts of Punjab were without power for several hours after grid failure shut down a number of power stations one by one in stunning fashion.
According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Power Division, the disruption occurred in two 500kV transmission lines in the south of Karachi.
Like in the past, it took several hours for authorities to identify the fault and restore the power supply.
According to a statement issued by the Power Division, an inquiry committee had been formed to probe the failure of the system and identify those responsible for this fault.
The committee will comprise officials probing to look into the facts and causes of the breakdown that engulfed almost a quarter of the country.
The body comprises its convener, General Manager (Technical) Lahore Muhammad Mustafa,; General Manager (AM) North Lahore Anwar Ahmed Khan; Chief Engineer (TSG) North Lahore Muhammad Ijaz Khan; and Chief Engineer (OP) NPCC Islamabad Muhammad Zakaria.
The committee has also been directed to conclude its findings into the inquiry based on the terms of reference (ToRs).
Here the question arises why has Pakistan is facing frequent power failures for the last seven years? The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has recently imposed a fine of Rs20 million on the NTDC because of breakdowns and collapsing of its towers.
But is slapping fine and forming inquiry committees the only response of the government to the power breakdowns? The power breakdown issue demands seriousness from politicians as the frequent breakdowns are not good for the already ill economy nor from per security point of view.
The responsible should be given exemplary punishment for their negligence so that the country can be saved from such breakdowns in the future.
