What led to country-wide power breakdown on Oct 13?

ISLAMABAD: The National Transmission and Despatch Company’s (NTDC) company has submitted an inquiry report, revealing the reasons behind the power breakdown in several parts of Pakistan on October 13, ARY News reported on Wednesday.

According to details, the NTDC has submitted a report to Power Division, revealing the reasons behind the power breakdown across Pakistan on October 13.

In a statement, Power Division said the NTDC’s committee has determined the reasons behind the blackout and the Ministry of Energy was taking immediate disciplinary action in light of the report.

The first reason, as per the report, was the nondurable and sub-standard work done on Tower No 26 of Karachi’s nuclear power plants K-2 and K-three three years ago — in 2019.

“The failure of the delivery system calls into question the quality of the equipment used in 2019 and the efficiency of the workers,” read the statement. It added the connectors used on it were not made for the transmission line but were modified and used for this temporary interconnection.

The Power division further said the project team used 25-year-old dilapidated conductors in 2019 at Tower No. 26, 26-A and 27. “In 2019, despite the sensitivity of nuclear power plants, it was not regularly repaired and maintained as per the prescribed standards,” it added.

Also Read: FAULT IN TRANSMISSION SYSTEM SUSPENDS POWER SUPPLY TO PARTS OF PAKISTAN

On October 13, a major power breakdown was reported in southern parts of Pakistan, including Karachi, with Ministry of Energy attributing the major power breakdown to an “accidental fault” in the transmission system.

“Multiple power plants in south are tripping due to an accidental fault in the country’s southern transmission system, disrupting the supply of electricity to the country’s southern part,” the energy ministry said in a tweet.