UPDATE - Power partially restored in Pakistan after major outage

UPDATES WITH PARTIAL RESTORATION OF POWER; CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – Electricity was partially restored in many parts of Pakistan on Monday evening after a major power outage struck the country in the morning, causing a loss of "billions of rupees" to an already sputtering economy.

The breakdown occurred at 7.34 a.m. local time (0234GMT), forcing government offices, airlines, hospitals, and business centers across the country to rely on backup generators.

According to initial reports, decrease in frequency in the national grid was the reason behind the breakdown, causing widespread power outages in scores of cities and towns across the country, the Energy Ministry said in a statement.

It took at least 10 hours to restore power supply gradually, beginning from northwestern Peshawar to southern port city of Karachi.

Large swathes across the country remained without power till this report was published.

- Committe to probe power outage

Energy Minister Khurram Dastgir told reporters that a three-member committee was established to investigate the breakdown.

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 outage, with several scheduled events postponed or canceled.

Local broadcaster Aaj News reported that the lingering outages forced hospitals to postpone surgeries in many cities, whereas electric train operations were also suspended in Islamabad and Lahore.

Dastgir said 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.

- 'Billions of rupees' loss to economy, says economist

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

In summers, the country's electricity demand jumps up to 28,000 megawatts, leaving a supply gap of 4,000 MW to 6,000 MW.

In winters, the demand and supply stand at 8,000 MW.

Farhan Mahmood, a Karachi-based economist, told Anadolu that the power outage caused "billions of rupees" loss to the country's ailing economy.

Pakistan, he added, had the capacity to cope with its energy demand, however rising petroleum and gas prices and a "primitive" distribution system are major obstacles in meeting the actual requirements.