Fire engulfs Shabqadar grid station

Full electricity supply likely to be restored within 7 days

SHABQADAR: Several areas of Charsadda district were left without electricity on Tuesday when one of the main power grid stations caught fire.

Assistant Superintendent and Grid Incharge of Shabqadar grid station Maqbali Khan told The Express Tribune that the fire erupted in the grid station’s control room around 2 pm. After a two-hour struggle, fire brigade personnel managed to put out the last flames, he said.

The assistant superintendent confirmed that the control room and the seven feeders inside it had been burnt down. In addition, one of the incoming cables was also damaged in the fire. A power transformer was left partially damaged. However, the extent of the damage to the power transformer will be determined after a test. The cause of the fire still remains a mystery. However, Maqbli speculated that it could be due to a fault in the incoming cable to the grid station.

He revealed that the executive engineer of the Peshwar circle also visited the grid station along with the repair staff. According to him, it will take 3 to 7 days to restore full power supply when the damaged feeders are replaced.

The grid incharge said that around Rs9.3 million is the estimated financial loss incurred in the blaze. It could be higher if the power transformer is also damaged.

The main area affected by the power disruption was the Shabqadar tehsil of the district. The fire has also affected the power supply to the marble factories located in the area and Ambadher, Rashakai, Matta, Pir Qilla, Behlol Khel and Shabqadar areas of the district.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 28^th, 2016.