KARACHI – Parts of Karachi were plunged into darkness after more than 14 K-Electric grid stations reportedly went offline on Wednesday, while the country’s electricity shortfall crossed a staggering 4,000 megawatts.
Karachi blackout, triggered by fault on K-Electric’s Extra High Tension (EHT) network, disrupted electricity supplies across a wide swathe of the metropolis and left residents facing an unexpected outage that lasted around 90 minutes in several areas.
The breakdown hit areas stretching from Manghopir and Nazimabad to Surjani Town, North Karachi and North Nazimabad. Defence, Orangi, Keamari, Sultanabad, PIDC, Hijrat Colony and Mauripur were also among the affected localities. New Karachi, Lines Area, Lyari, Quaidabad and Gulshan-e-Hadeed were also reported to have experienced power interruptions.
K-Electric said the outage was caused by a brief fault in its EHT network, which temporarily disrupted transmission to several areas. The utility said electricity had already been restored in some localities, while technical teams were working to bring the remaining affected areas back online.
The company maintained that electricity supply remained normal across most of Karachi despite the temporary disruption. The blackout, however, comes against the backdrop of a much larger national electricity crisis that is putting Pakistan’s power system under renewed pressure.
According to reports based on National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC) sources, the country’s electricity shortfall has now exceeded 4,000MW, with several power plants reportedly out of service and hydropower generation declining.
The widening gap between electricity demand and available supply has already triggered fresh load-shedding in cities and rural areas. Consumers are reportedly facing three to four hours of power cuts, with distribution companies increasing the duration of outages as the supply situation deteriorates.
Shortfall crosses 4000MW
Lahore is emerging as one of the major pressure points in the unfolding crisis. Electricity demand in the city has reportedly surged to around 4,000MW, while available supply stands at approximately 3,000MW, leaving a gap of nearly 1,000MW.
The shortage has forced the power distribution system to resort to additional load-shedding, while reports indicate that reduced availability of diesel, gas and hydropower has further complicated the situation in the LESCO region. Dunya News reported that the shortfall in the LESCO area alone had crossed 1,500MW.
Sources have also warned that the situation could worsen in the coming days if electricity availability does not improve.
The latest crisis has revived questions over repeated assurances that Pakistan’s electricity shortages had been brought under control. Instead of easing, the supply-demand gap has widened, generation has come under pressure and consumers are once again bearing the brunt through prolonged and increasingly unpredictable outages.
Pakistan faces hours-long loadshedding as shortfall crosses 4,000MW
