The January 9 blackout

An inquiry into the countrywide power blackout on January 9 this year has arrived at the conclusion that it had occurred due to a human error, the Power Division informed a parliamentary committee on Monday. The inquiry report has pinned the blame for the breakdown on some officials working at the Guddu Thermal Power Plant, bringing once again to the fore the disorganisation that characterises most spheres of public life in the country.

The blackout caused major disruption in the normal life of millions besides affecting industrial and agricultural production. In light of the finding of a preliminary inquiry report, the Central Power Generation Company had suspended seven of its employees for alleged negligence. The Power Division has received three reports on the electricity blackout and it will submit them to the federal cabinet. The Power Division’s inquiry report has also mentioned those failing to improve the National Transmission and Despatch Company’s functioning. The report has stressed the need for putting in place preventive steps to ensure that failure of one plant does not render the entire system dysfunctional.

The fact that on January 9, electricity was obliterated temporarily in the entire country mainly due to the error by some of those responsible to operate the system necessitates serious soul-searching. It is of vital importance to identify the underlying causes that led to the human error. Was it because of negligence and complacency of certain officials or shortcomings on their part? We have numerous instances where complacency has caused serious losses. Last year’s PIA plane crash in Karachi was attributed to human error. It is common knowledge why the Pakistan Steel Mills has ceased functioning, and the PIA and Pakistan Railways are in dire financial straits.

An interesting thing emerged during the Power Division official’s briefing to the parliamentary panel that when the blackout started, electricity consumption in the country was 10,000 megawatts. There was a time when people were informed how much was the demand for power and how much was the production. But this practice has long ceased.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 24^th, 2021.

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