PM Shehbaz takes strict notice of countrywide electricity breakdown and orders a high-level probe
\n islamabad
\nA massive power cut across Pakistan continued after night fell on Monday, affecting most of the country\u2019s 220 million residents, including in the metropolises of Karachi and Lahore.
\nPrime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered an inquiry into the outage, which began at around 7:30am and has so far lasted more than 16 hours during the peak winter season.
\nAccording to a statement issued by the Prime Minister Office, the Prime Minister constituted a high-level committee for investigation into the matter.
\nHe also sought report from the Minister for Energy Khurram Dastgir in this regard.
\nExpressing his annoyance, he said it should be apprised as to why such a big breakdown of electricity took place in the country.
\nThe outage occurred on a winter\u2019s day when temperatures are forecast to fall to around 4 degrees Celsius (39\u00b0F) in Islamabad and 8 degrees Celsius (46\u00b0F) in Karachi.
\nThe outage \u2014 which Energy Minister Khurram Dastagir had said was due to a voltage surge \u2014 is the second major grid failure in three months, and adds to the blackouts that Pakistan\u2019s populace suffers on an almost-daily basis.
\nAnalysts and officials blame the power problems on an ageing electricity network, which like much of the national infrastructure, desperately needs an upgrade that the government says it can ill afford.
\nAs evening drew on and homes were without electricity in the dark, the energy minister wrote on Twitter that authorities had started restoring power across the country. Dastgir had told reporters earlier: \u201cWe have faced some hurdles but we will overcome these hurdles, and will restore the power.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PM Shehbaz takes strict notice of countrywide electricity breakdown and orders a high-level probe islamabad A massive power cut across Pakistan continued after night fell on Monday, affecting most of the country\u2019s 220 million residents, including in the metropolises of Karachi and Lahore. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered an inquiry into the outage, which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":288340,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-309212","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n