Power cuts: Upper Sindh goes without power for about 36 hours

SUKKUR:

The entire of upper Sindh plunged into darkness Tuesday morning and stayed that way till late on Wednesday, because a main transmission line coming from the Guddu Thermal Power Station broke down. The transmission line carries electricity from Guddu to the Lodra Grid Station.

The supply to Sukkur, Ghotki, Khairpur, Naushahro Feroze, Larkana, Dadu, Qamber-Shahdadkot, Shikarpur, Jacobabad and Kashmore was disrupted at about 10:15 pm. At first it was presumed that the supply to Sukkur city was cut off by the regional control centre at Jamshoro or the national power control in Islamabad, but Arain grid station manager Ghulam Nabi told The Express Tribune that it was only a problem from the Lodra grid station.

At the Lodra grid station, a staffer who identified himself as Sikandar explained that a fault had occurred on the main transmission line which is why upper Sindh was cut off.

According to him, an alternative power supply was restored to some parts of upper Sindh from the Uch power plant at about 2am Wednesday. A conductor of the main transmission line had snapped near the Guddu thermal power station but it was repaired at about 12:25 pm on Wednesday. A well-placed officer in Sepco, who did not want to be named, said that the entire system is being run without any maintenance. All the conductors of the main transmission lines needed replacing.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 6^th, 2011.