The supply of electricity to several grid stations of Pakistan was halted on Friday after a 220 kV high-frequency transmission line tripped at the Guddu Thermal Power Station following a fire, reported Aaj News. Many areas of the country are expected to face power cuts in addition to scheduled load shedding.

Fire brigades had arrived at the 600 MW power station in Kashmore to get the fire under control.

Last year, Pakistan suffered a massive power blackout after the Guddu power plant developed a fault after officials failed to follow the standard operating procedures during maintenance work. At the time of the blackout, power consumption in the country stood at 10,000MW.

Power load-shedding situation to improve from May onwards: Dastgir

The tripping of high transmission line brought down the system frequency from 50 to zero in less than one second, which caused the tripping of power stations nationwide.

After the incident, the National Transmission and Dispatch Company created a committee to probe into the reasons and facts leading to the collapse of the power system and determine the responsibility.

15,473MW electricity still not available to system

Pakistan remains engulfed in a countrywide power outage issue. Sources told Business Recorder as much as 15,473MW electricity remains unavailable to the system due to scheduled outages, forced outages, system congestion, fuel shortage and fewer water releases from reservoirs, which could be the main reason for the massive unscheduled load-shedding across the country.