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Electricity transmission restored across country: Power Division

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  • An accidental fault had triggered an almost day-long power outage in the Southern parts of Pakistan.
  • The fault could not be fixed despite passing of more than 24 hours since it was detected.  
  • Power Division says only routine power load-shedding is being carried out in country.

LAHORE/ISLAMABAD: After an almost day-long outage, the Power Division on Friday said that electricity transmission and generation have been restored across the country adding that only routine power load-shedding is being carried.

“Electricity transmission and generation have been restored across Pakistan including restoration of full supply from national grid to Karachi,” the division said in a statement.

Power outage yet to be controlled

Earlier today, sources within the National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC) had said that the countrywide power crisis, caused due to an “accidental fault” in the national grid, had not been controlled yet. 

Sources in the NTDC said that it was a major breakdown and could not be controlled even after 24 hours as the authorities have yet to identify the fault.  

The sources added that cities have been facing four hours of loadshedding while rural areas are suffering from a 12-hour-long power outage.

Meanwhile, power plants have not been fully energised and the country still faces a 4,500MW power shortfall while the frequency fluctuation is making things more complex.

The electricity is being restored from the power plants slowly to the system, said the sources. They added that this is the 16th breakdown in the last 10 years. 

Large parts of the country were in dark for more than 12 hours on Thursday after a fault was detected in the national grid’s southern transmission system.

Energy Minister Khurram Dastagir said that an “accidental fault” triggered the breakdown and announced the establishment of a committee to probe the matter and submit a report within four days.

‘Power supply will improve’

Meanwhile, the Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) spokesperson said that the electricity demand in the region is 1,280MW while the national grid is supplying 1,080MW.

Once the electricity supply is back to normal, the situation will improve, said the spokesperson. 

‘Power supply stabilised in Karachi’

In a statement, K-Electric said that the supply of electricity in Karachi was restored in a phase-wise manner. 

KE began phase-wise restoration efforts with first priority on strategic installations such as KWSB pumping stations, airports, and hospitals, said the power utility. 

Later, the supply was diverted to residential areas including but not limited to PECHS, Orangi, Lyari, Ibrahim Hyderi, Nazimabad, and Defence Housing Authority.

The technical constraints at the national grid may persist over the next 48 hours and to manage the constraints, KE may temporarily curtail power supply to industrial zones during nighttime hours to facilitate residential areas.

The power supply company said it may also have to conduct loadshedding.

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An investigation was “launched” into PTA’s inability to get Rs. 78 billion back from Telcos

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The PTA has reportedly been instructed to reply to NAB by July 29. According to the enquiry, the national exchequer has suffered losses as a result of the delay in collecting dues.

The PTA has been asked to provide NAB with information about any pertinent records, court proceedings, and overdue bills. The NAB Karachi has summoned the PTA officials to appear with all pertinent documentation.

All of the principle sum has to be paid by the LDI firms, according to sources. But due to judicial stay orders, the collection of dues has been impeded.

These sources further state that a steering group has been established by the Ministry of IT to supervise the issue of dues recovery.

In a previous event, the tariffs levied on importing cell phones from outside were clarified by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).

Contrary to what some internet reports claim, PTA clarified in response to recent news regarding the tariffs on mobile phone imports that there hasn’t been a formal decision to remove these levies in Pakistan.

the PTA.Pakistanis living abroad will be the only ones free from these levies, according to the PTA. A SIM card can be inserted and the phone restarted to temporarily register a device for non-PTA mobile subscribers.

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Weekly inflation in Pakistan increased by 0.17 percent.

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The SPI for the week under review in the aforementioned group was reported at 321.95 points, as opposed to 321.40 points during the previous week, according to the PBS statistics.

The SPI for the combined consumption group saw a 20.09 percent increase in the week under review compared to the same week the previous year.

The weekly SPI includes 51 necessary items for every spending group and 17 urban areas, with a base year of 2015–16 = 100.

The SPI for the lowest consumption category, which is up to Rs 17,732, grew by 0.08 percent from 311.97 points to 312.22 points this past week.

0.18 percent,The index of consumption for the lowest consumption groups, which are Rs 17,732-22,888, Rs 22,889-29,517, Rs 29,518-44,175 and above Rs 44,175; increased by 0.13 percent, 0.15 percent, 0.18 and 0.19 percent, respectively.

Nineteen (37.25%) of the fifty-one commodities had price increases over the week, eight (15.69%) had price decreases, and twenty-four (47.06%) had unchanged pricing.

On a weekly basis, the following commodities saw significant price decreases: tomatoes (9.19%), onions (2.14%), LPG (1.04%), bananas (0.53%), wheat flour (0.35%), potatoes (0.17%), pulse masoor (0.16%), and bread (0.05%).

Chicken (4.80%), garlic (2.01%), pulse gramme (1.87%), eggs (1.71%), beef (0.93%), gur (0.89%), pulse moong (0.84%), fresh milk (0.45%), firewood (0.23%), and cigarettes (0.12%) were among the items whose average prices increased significantly week over week.

The commodities that saw a year-over-year decline were: wheat flour (31.75%); cooking oil (13.44%); vegetable ghee 2.5 kg (10.42%); vegetable ghee 1 kg (9.85%); mustard oil (8.33%); eggs (5.82%); rice basmati broken (4.15%); and tea package (2.52%).

Gas prices for Q1 (570.00%), onions (96.01%), pulse gramme (40.39%), powered milk (39.11%), garlic (34.61%), pulse moong (29.77%), men’s sandals (25.01%), beef (23.52%), salt powder (23.28%), pulse mash (22.50%), and energy saver (17.96%) were among the commodities whose average prices increased year over year.

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The price of gold has drastically dropped in Pakistan.

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As per the All-Pakistan Gems and Jewellers Sarafa Association (APGJSA), the cost of 24-karat gold per tola decreased by Rs 2,300, standing at Rs 250,500.

A kilogramme of 24-karat gold costing Rs1,972 less at the local market, making it worth Rs2114,763. Ten grammes of 22-karat gold had a price decrease to Rs196,866 as well.

After losing a significant $43 during the day, the rate per ounce of gold on the international market also decreased. It currently stands at $2,370.

On Thursday, the price of 24-karat silver also experienced a decline, falling by Rs60 to settle at Rs2,860 petal.

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