Prolonged power outage hits Haripur

HARIPUR:

Power consumers of six electricity feeders in Haripur suffered an eleven-hour long power shutdown on Friday, bringing daily activities to a standstill. Pesco authorities said the fault occurred in the 132 KV Kangra Grid Station, when the incoming wire was burnt by lightning.

Like other parts of Hazara, heavy rains lashed Haripur District in the morning. During the rain, according to PESCO sources lightning struck the incoming power cable of the grid station, suspending power supply to half the district, which is fed through six main feeders, Town 1, T&T Colony, Khalabat Township, New Khanpur, Serae Nehmat Khan and Mirpur.

According to sources, the cable was burnt at around 7:30am and local grid station authorities restored the line at around 5.45pm. Routine activities at several businesses, small industrial units and shops remained suspended during the 11-hour outage. It was reported that the incident occurred because a naked wire that should have been underground was exposed on the surface. Last year, a power transformer worth millions also burnt down at the same grid station and the area was without electricity for over two weeks.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 10^th, 2011.