A major power outage plunged most of Pakistan into darkness, many cities (Lahore, Karachi, etc.) were left without electricity for 12 or more hours.

Power outages are common in Pakistan, which is facing a chronic energy crisis exacerbated by a complex and aging distribution system.

Electricity has been restored, but only partially, in the capital Islamabad and other cities.

The financial center of Karachi, with a population of 15 million, and Lahore, the second largest city of 10 million, remain without electricity.

Energy Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan told reporters that an investigation into the blackout had been launched. “We are facing some obstacles, but we will overcome them and restore power supply to the entire country by evening,” he said.

The accident was caused by a power surge in the network when the power plants were restarted in the morning. Khan explained that during the winter, these units are temporarily turned off at night to save fuel.

Most hospitals, industrial plants, and government buildings have generators. But households and small businesses often do not have the funds to purchase such equipment.

The natural gas heating system is extensive but unreliable due to the shortage of natural gas.

According to the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) on Twitter, thousands of mobile antennas were also shot down. There are fears that if power is not restored soon, a communications outage could occur. Some social media users reported that major cities such as Islamabad lost their mobile phone signal.

PTA reports that Pakistan has 194 million mobile phone subscribers and 124 million internet subscribers.

Pakistan’s economy has faltered lately, inflation is skyrocketing, the national currency is in free fall and foreign exchange reserves are at their lowest point. The blackout only increases the pressure on small businesses.

In some schools, lessons were held in dim light.

A similar outage in January 2021 plunged almost the entire country of 220 million people into darkness for several hours.

Source: APE-MPE, Reuters, AFP.