Major power breakdown in Karachi Special

Pakistan's largest city is facing one of the worst power breakdowns in history. Most parts of the city are without power for almost 24 hours.

Karachi, Pakistan's largest city and financial hub, is experiencing one of the worst power breakdowns in history. The city was disconnected from the national power grid on Wednesday evening due to a sandstorm. This gave way to tripping of all grid stations that ended in a complete power outage. It all started on Wednesday evening when a strong windstorm damaged the electricity supply system from upcountry. The city of Karachi needs 2,400 Mega Watts of electricity per day out of which 800 MW is provided by the national grid. The rest is generated through thermal power plants. When the supply from national grid stopped, it generated a cascading effect thus tripping all the thermal power stations of Karachi. Subsequently, the whole city went under darkness. People spent the hot summer night in parks and open areas as the heat was unbearable in the congested neighborhoods. Even hospitals and public utilities were left with no other choice but to suspend their services. Thousands of operations were canceled and the hospital emergency centers were crowded with people suffering from heat stroke. Karachi airport operations were also suspended for some hours as the backup generation facility failed to provide enough power. The work on restoration was slow at start with frequent tripping that foiled the efforts. After 18 hours, power was restored in some areas of Karachi. At the filing of this report, 50% of the city is still without power. Power breakdowns in Pakistan are common as the country is facing a huge power crisis. Regular and scheduled power outages, known as load-shedding, are a regular feature in Pakistan. Digital Journal took a round of the city, asking people about their views on the breakdown. While many did blame it on poor maintenance of supply systems, others were of the opinion that no one can control natural disasters. All agreed on one point, however. The government needs to improve the power distribution system by adding more grid stations. The current system is insufficient for a city of 15 million.