Lights out in the city for fifth time in two months
KE attributes power breakdown to tripping of national grid lines
KE attributes power breakdown to tripping of national grid lines. PHOTO: FILE
KARACHI:
The city of lights plunged into darkness early Monday due to what K-Electric (KE) claimed as 'tripping' of the national grid lines
Power supply in most parts of the city was restored later in the day, according to KE.
In a tweet, KE said Karachi's power supply was affected following tripping in the transmission line of the national grid. The affected areas included North Nazimabad, Gulshan, Saddar and Defence Housing Authority.
Two hours later, the company explained that the 500KV transmission line connecting KE to the national grid had tripped causing a rollover effect on the power supply.
Power restoration underway after massive breakdown
"Restoration efforts are under way with some affected areas already back online," it said, assuring that the power situation would improve significantly in the following three to four hours.
According to the power utility, currently, KE is receiving 650MW on average from the national grid.
"Despite abrupt disconnection of power from the national grid, KE's generation units landed safely in island mode ensuring earliest possible restoration of power to the city. We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused to our valued customers and appreciate their cooperation," the KE spokesperson said in a routine statement issued Monday evening.
Major power breakdown hits Punjab and K-P
Last month, the port city suffered four major outages due to a major fault that developed in the KE's distribution system.
KE had said the disruption in power supply was triggered by a rollover effect following the disconnection of Karachi's power supply lines from the national grid.
The spokesperson of National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) in his statement said that the Southern region from where power is supplied from the national grid tripped due to dense fog.
KE's own system also tripped, suspending power supply in Karachi. "The NTDC's entire system is however, operating in the rest of the country," the spokesperson said.
This was the fifth major power breakdown hitting the metropolis in two months. Last month, citizens faced four power breakdowns which the KE had attributed to humid weather resulting in the tripping of the extra high tension lines. Residents not only had to brave hot weather without electricity, but suffer a water crisis as the intermittent power breakdown also led to a burst in the main water supply line.
The Karachi Water and Sewage Board (KWSB) had said that a 72-inch main water trunk burst due to the water's back pressure after the power failure in the morning on October 1, at the Dhabeji pumping station. The line was repaired by October 2 evening. However, there was another power breakdown which led to a burst in another water line on the morning of October 2.
According to one citizen, who asked not to be named, the disruption of KE's system has become routine since the past many years and affects the lives of the city's residents even when there are small changes in weather. "Such frequent power breakdowns never happen in any other place as they happen in Karachi," she said.
Khurram Ali, a resident of Clifton, said that the power utility company should focus more on producing their own indigenous electricity to meet the demands of Karachi rather than relying on the national grid. "If KE is efficient in taking bills and carrying out load-shedding, then they should also be efficient in providing residents of the port city uninterrupted power supply," he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 13th, 2018.
The city of lights plunged into darkness early Monday due to what K-Electric (KE) claimed as 'tripping' of the national grid lines
Power supply in most parts of the city was restored later in the day, according to KE.
In a tweet, KE said Karachi's power supply was affected following tripping in the transmission line of the national grid. The affected areas included North Nazimabad, Gulshan, Saddar and Defence Housing Authority.
Two hours later, the company explained that the 500KV transmission line connecting KE to the national grid had tripped causing a rollover effect on the power supply.
Power restoration underway after massive breakdown
"Restoration efforts are under way with some affected areas already back online," it said, assuring that the power situation would improve significantly in the following three to four hours.
According to the power utility, currently, KE is receiving 650MW on average from the national grid.
"Despite abrupt disconnection of power from the national grid, KE's generation units landed safely in island mode ensuring earliest possible restoration of power to the city. We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused to our valued customers and appreciate their cooperation," the KE spokesperson said in a routine statement issued Monday evening.
Major power breakdown hits Punjab and K-P
Last month, the port city suffered four major outages due to a major fault that developed in the KE's distribution system.
KE had said the disruption in power supply was triggered by a rollover effect following the disconnection of Karachi's power supply lines from the national grid.
The spokesperson of National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) in his statement said that the Southern region from where power is supplied from the national grid tripped due to dense fog.
KE's own system also tripped, suspending power supply in Karachi. "The NTDC's entire system is however, operating in the rest of the country," the spokesperson said.
This was the fifth major power breakdown hitting the metropolis in two months. Last month, citizens faced four power breakdowns which the KE had attributed to humid weather resulting in the tripping of the extra high tension lines. Residents not only had to brave hot weather without electricity, but suffer a water crisis as the intermittent power breakdown also led to a burst in the main water supply line.
The Karachi Water and Sewage Board (KWSB) had said that a 72-inch main water trunk burst due to the water's back pressure after the power failure in the morning on October 1, at the Dhabeji pumping station. The line was repaired by October 2 evening. However, there was another power breakdown which led to a burst in another water line on the morning of October 2.
According to one citizen, who asked not to be named, the disruption of KE's system has become routine since the past many years and affects the lives of the city's residents even when there are small changes in weather. "Such frequent power breakdowns never happen in any other place as they happen in Karachi," she said.
Khurram Ali, a resident of Clifton, said that the power utility company should focus more on producing their own indigenous electricity to meet the demands of Karachi rather than relying on the national grid. "If KE is efficient in taking bills and carrying out load-shedding, then they should also be efficient in providing residents of the port city uninterrupted power supply," he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 13th, 2018.