Scores of cities across country remain without power for hours

By Aamir Latif 

PAKISTAN (AA) - 

A major power outage struck Pakistan on Monday morning, forcing government offices, airlines, hospitals, and business centers across the country to rely on backup generators.

The breakdown, which, according to initial reports, was because by a decrease in frequency in the national grid, occurred at 7:34 a.m. local time (0334 GMT), causing widespread power outages in scores of cities and towns across the country, the Energy Ministry said in a statement.

Reports from the capital Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Peshawar, and other cities suggested that the normal course of life remained affected due to the power breakdown, with several scheduled events postponed or canceled.

Energy Minister Khurram Dastagir told reporters that the restoration of grid stations in Peshawar and Islamabad has begun, and that power will be restored throughout the country within the next 12 hours.

Major power breakdowns are common in this South Asian nuclear country, primarily because of poor infrastructure and lax maintenance standards.

• Power shutdown contrinues 

Power division says that power has been restored in some cities after more than 14 hours while electricity will restore in remaining cities in coming few hours.

"Beginning restoration of electricity, by grace of Allah Almighty, across the country," Federal Minister for power Khurram Dastagir Tweeted.

"During cold January nights, power demand reduces to its lowest for the whole year. Power demand was just over 8600MW average during recent nights. Low demand increases vulnerability of system. A thorough investigation has begun that will consider all possibilities," Dastagir said.

*Khushal Khan contributed to this story from Islamabad.