KARACHI: Load shedding has been a common problem in Pakistan. Electricity breakdowns have been frequently occurring in all parts of Pakistan, especially in Karachi. Karachi was plunged into darkness when this electricity was cut. Eight grid stations had tripped and a fault in a high tension wire at Queens Roads.
This fault came at a high cost to homes that had to survive all these hours without electricity. A similar event had occurred last year when a wire had malfunctioned at a power station named Bin Qasim. When the wire defaulted at Queens Road, areas such as Clifton and Gizri were all without power.
The inconvenience caused by this breakdown is huge because a lot of houses didn’t have any generator or UPS installed. A lot of cooperation and patience on the part of the people was required and shown. The breakdown is said to have been fixed at 9 am. The breakdown had occurred due to a fault that had developed in the national grid.
Aside from the national grid, several k-grid stations also tripped. The Red Zone was without electricity the whole night. People were infuriated because no update on the electricity situation was received on time. This was despite the fact that on Twitter, the power company had uploaded a status saying that they were collecting information on how and why the power shortage had occurred.
The Governor House and CM house were also plunged into darkness. According to the K-Electric Director, Sadia Dada, the power breakdown had occurred due to a default in the wires and the tripping of lines. The power was completely restored in 10 to 12 hours. People kept calling 118 to complain about this power outage but no one helped.
The justification provided by the workers was that such a large number of calls couldn’t be attended to. People used twitter to express their frustration at such a long power-cut. The monsoon spell is said to be the cause of this breakdown as heavy rainfall lead to the tripping of wires.
Customers of K-Electrics were outraged because the rain was just a little drizzle. Customers used twitter to express their concerns. Several wrote that they hoped the new government would take some actions against such companies who failed to provide a satisfactory service. A major inconvenience faced by people because of this electricity outrage was the shortage of water. Due to no electricity, motors had stopped working which lead to a severe shortage of water, adding to the frustration of people.
