Friday, 14 October, 2022 I 17 Rabi ul Awwal, 1444 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XIII No 105 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition
power restored after 12 hours countrywide blackout g
28 DISTRICTS Of qESCO, 13 DISTRICTS Of HESCO AND 127 gRID STATIONS Of MEPCO AffECTED
ISLAMABAD/KARACHI
a
ahmad ahmadani
fTER a 12-hour-long breakdown caused by what is being described as “accidental fault” across the country, electricity was “fully restored” although the ministry says the power supply situation will return to normalcy by friday morning. The power breakdown took place on Thursday — amounting to 8,000 megawatts, according to the energy minister — which deprived large swathes of the country, including provincial capitals – Karachi and Lahore, of electricity. The ministry said the disturbance in two 500kv lines in the south of Karachi was resolved. “Electricity supply is being increased from alternative power plants, which will return to normal by friday morning,” the ministry tweeted. Earlier, the Ministry of Energy had attributed the breakdown to an “accidental fault” in the transmission system. “Several power plants in the south are tripping in phases due to an accidental fault in the country’s southern transmission system. As a result, there have been disruptions in the supply of electricity to the country’s south,” the ministry said in a tweet following reports of power outages. THERE WAS A FAULT IN THEM AND THEY FELL: Later, Energy Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan, in a press conference expressed his hope that electricity would be fully restored “to normalcy” by tonight, and announced that power had begun returning to parts of southern Punjab. He shared the preliminary findings of the circumstances that led to the breakdown. “This
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INqUIRy COMMITTEE fORMED TO ASCERTAIN fACTS BEHIND POWER BREAKDOWN
morning at 9:16am, our two 500kv lines in the south — Karachi — there was a fault in both of them. I am not calling it an accident yet, because an inquiry has yet to be conducted. There was a fault in them and they fell, as a result the country’s southern region saw an electricity blackout. “Our first priority was to isolate Karachi from it, and we were successful in doing so and we isolated Karachi from it by 9:45. By isolate, I mean that the 1,000MW that we provide to Karachi daily, was cut. But KE’s system is independently operational and is supplying electricity to [parts of] the city.” He said as a result of the two power lines in which the fault developed, parts of Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur and quetta, and partially in Multan and faisalabad experienced power breakdowns. Dastgir added that he was personally monitoring the progress of the restoration. “As a result of this breakdown, a large part of our power plants are out of our system, around 8,000MW, of which we have restored 4,700MW,” he said. “Electricity has been completely restored in Multan and faisalabad. There is an issue in Hyderabad, but we have restored Sepco partially till Dadu. There is also [power] connectivity in Shikarpur, and because of partial connections in Sukkur. qesco has been restored till Sibi.” The minister said three teams were in the field: one was the reconnection team dealing with the cut-off conductors, the second team was for repairs, wherever needed, and the third team, was the inquiry team, which would sub-
mit a report to the ministry of energy in four days identifying the cause of the incident. “Our biggest success is that we prevented a breakdown in the north. We limited the shutdown to the south through timely reconnection … the north was completely saved from the shutdown. “We are trying to completely restore the system between maghrib and isha,” he said. “It is taking time. The power plants that were shut down will take hours to restart. These include coal plants, Thar coal plants and nuclear plants in Karachi, wherever there has been tripping, plants are being restarted according to their technical specifications. “We expect that those plants will start production in the next few hours, and as I said, we will completely restore the system between 78pm. Our priorities at present are [the restoration of power in] Karachi and quetta and then Hyderabad too.” He said the tripping developed near Karachi and moved northward. “There are two lines in Karachi’s south — NK1 and Jamshoro — there was a fault in them simultaneously. He, however, insisted that there was no fault in the system in Karachi, only the transmission of 1,000MW from the national grid had been cut off. “When the plants will be restarted, 1,000MW supply will be restored [to the city].” The minister hinted that human error could be responsible for the fault, though he wouldn’t confirm it until the inquiry team’s report arrives. “When the inquiry team’s report is received, if we have to take disciplinary action in its light, we will,” he added. “We have to find the actual cause, whether it was an accident or there was another reason.” SHC ISSUES ARREST WARRANT FOR KE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER: The KE officials appeared before the Sindh High Court (SHC) after the court issued the arrest warrant for the distributor company’s chief executive officer (CEO). The officials informed the court that the KE wasn’t responsible for the power outage. “The entire country’s power system is down,” they said. Earlier, SHC Justice Salahuddin Panhwar issued the arrest warrants for the KE CEO, directing the officials to implement the arrest orders within an hour. He expressed annoyance over the suspension of the power supply since 9:30am, as city courts and the accountability courts within Karachi were also left without power following the breakdown. He asked how the court could hold proceedings with no electricity.
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Except for petrol, price of all POL products may witness hike ISLAMABAD staff report
The coalition government is likely to jack up the per litre prices of all petroleum products except the petrol for the remaining fifteen days of October,2022 it was learnt on Thursday. According to sources in oil industry, the price of high-speed diesel (HSD) is expected to witness Rs 11.57/litre increase while Kerosene oil price is likely to be increased by Rs 4.52/litre, and light diesel oil (LDO) price may find Rs 7.48/litre hike. However, petrol price is estimated to be reduced by Rs 10.78/litre, they added. According to the working of the oil industry, the next refinery price of petrol is likely to stand at Rs 168.39/litre while the next ex-depot price of petrol is expected to stand at Rs 214.02/litre. Similarly, the next refinery price of diesel (HSD) would stand at Rs 225.12/litre and the next ex-depot price of diesel is expected to stand at Rs 246.87/litre during the next fifteen days of October, 2022. Likewise, the next refinery price of kerosene oil may stand at Rs 174.07/litre and its next ex-depot price is expected to stand at Rs 196.35/litre. Moreover, the next expected refinery price is likely to stand at Rs 179.49/litre and its next ex-depot price is expected to stand at Rs 193.98/litre. Above prices are based on current government taxes and last available Pakistan State Oil (PSO) import incidental including US dollar/Pak rupee adjustment, said the working of oil industry. At present the petrol is available at Rs 224.80/litre, HSD at Rs 235.30/litre, Kerosene oil at Rs 191.83/litre and LDO at Rs 186.50/litre in the open market of the country from 1st October, 2022. It is pertinent to mention that the coalition government had decreased the prices of petrol by Rs 12.63/litre, HSD Rs 12.13/litre, Kerosene oil Rs 10.19/litre and LDO by Rs 10.78/litre with effect from 1st October, 2022. The finance ministry in a statement dated 30th September 2020 said that in the wake of reduction of petroleum products prices in the international market and with a view to provide relief to the consumers, the government has decided to decrease the prices of petroleum products.
PM willing to ‘engage with India’ for regional peace, progress ASTANA, KAZAKHSTAN staff report
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday strongly favoured peaceful dialogue for resolution of conflicts with other countries, including the neighbouring India, in a bid to achieve the goals of prosperity of the nations and the region. Addressing at the 6th summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana, he said Pakistan desired peaceful relations with all its neighbours including India. “We are willing to engage with India for the sake of prosperity and development as both sides of the border cannot afford to deal with massive challenges of poverty and unemployment amid meager resources,” he said. The prime minister’s speech focused on peace among nations to hit the goal of prosperity as he addressed the leaders of the multinational forum, gathered to discuss cooperation towards promoting peace, security and stability in Asia.
PM Shehbaz stressed that the people deserved the resources to be diverted to their education and health. “I want to leave behind a legacy of peace and progress for the prosperity of the coming generations of our region,” he said. “Pakistan’s first priority at the moment is to revive rapid and equitable economy”. He, however, said, the “onus remains on India to take a necessary steps to engage towards the result-oriented solutions.” The prime minister highlighted India’s unabated atrocities in Jammu and Kashmir for last seven decades, where he said, that the Kashmiris faced continued denial of their right to self-determination. He urged other countries to take notice of India’s ‘bullet over ballot’ policy as it blatantly quashed the United Nations Security Council’s resolution on holding a plebiscite in Kashmir. “India has become a threat to its minorities, neighbours and the entire region,” he said. Sharif said Pakistan was “absolutely
ready and willing for a discussion with Indian counterparts to promote trade and investment provided they showed the sincerity of purpose”. On Afghanistan, he said the four decades of conflict not only took a
heavy toll on the country but also upon its neighbouring Pakistan. Pakistan, he said, suffered immense damage to its peace and security with serious consequences borne in shape of 80,000 casualties and billions of dol-
lars financial losses. The prime minister expressed satisfaction that after immense sacrifices, Pakistan had now become able to control extremism and terrorism on its soil besides managing to host four million Afghan refugees. “Prosperous and stable Afghanistan is not only in the interest of Pakistan, but also for the international community,” he said. Shehbaz Sharif called for pooling resources among the regional countries to address the common challenges in the interest of peace and progress. “If we team our resources, Asia can stand with pride and achievement,” he said. “Through constructive dialogue, we can build mutual trust”. He mentioned Pakistan’s location offering a natural bridge among various economies of the region. In this regard, he highlighted the multi-billion dollar project of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which had transformed the economic and connectivity landscape of the region.
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