Ikram Sehgal, Chairman and Moonis Alvi, CEO of K-Electric (KE) expressed their appreciation for the Pakistan Army's and Pakistan Ranger's assistance which proved critical in averting a crisis situation when floodwaters entered KE's KDA grid station.
Torrential monsoon rains had caused Lath Dam near Super Highway to overflow and floodwater entered the grid which is located at Gulzar-i-Hijri, Scheme-33. This is a strategic 220kV grid installation which also serves as an interconnection point between KE and the national grid.
The Pakistan Army and Pakistan Rangers responded swiftly to KE's request for aid in averting the threat of flooding at the grid station. The Pakistan Army mobilised all resources including equipment and manpower to work with the KE team which was present on site and helped to bring the situation under control.
As per K-Electric spokesperson, "When the dam started to overflow Tuesday night and the water entered the KDA grid, as an emergency safety measure KE was forced to suspend power supply to parts of Sohrab Goth, Abul Hassan Isphahani Road, Super Highway and KWSB's NEK Pumping station. Had water levels continued to rise, the entire grid would have had to be shutdown to ensure the safety of people and equipment, which given the criticality of this grid to KE's network, would have affected power supply to several other areas including Gulshan, Azizabad, Liaqatabad, Malir, FB Area, Surjani, Shadman, Johar and Shah Faisal."
KE directed immediate rescue and repair teams to the site with pumps, sandbags and other equipments to stem the inflow. The arrival of continents of the Pak Army with heavy machinery, bulldozers and pumps helped avert a crisis.
Pak Army and Rangers are still engaged in helping KE teams to deal with the threat by building dams, digging trenches, and using sandbags to direct the flow of water and manage the emergency. All efforts are being made to manage this situation and swiftly and safely restore power supply to the affected areas.