Millions in Pakistan in Nationwide Blackout as Grid Fails

Описание: Millions of people across Pakistan’s major cities were plunged into a blackout prompted by a power grid failure, dealing another blow to the nation already reeling from surging energy costs.

Outages were reported in locations including Karachi, Lahore and capital Islamabad, according to local media reports, and it could take as long as 12 hours to fully restore electricity, Geo TV said, citing Power Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan.

Many major businesses were relying on backup power systems, and Pakistan’s stock exchange was trading as normal. The benchmark KSE-100 index was 0.5% lower as of about 11:25 am local time.

Reduced frequency caused the national grid to go down at around 7:34 a.m. Monday, Pakistan’s Energy Ministry said in a Twitter post. Work is underway to bring power back, and a limited number of grids in Islamabad and Peshawar have been restored, the ministry said. Khan didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Karachi-based K-Electric Ltd. confirmed its network had been impacted, and said it was prioritizing strategic customers including hospitals and airports. “Teams are working to restore power supply in the city after tripping took place at the national grid,” a spokesman said in a statement.

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