KARACHI: A major part of the metropolis plunged into darkness again late on Saturday night — third such instance in a week’s time — as there were reports of a technical breakdown at Bin Qasim thermal plant, it has been learnt.

K-Electric sources revealed that due to the technical fault at Bin Qasim thermal power plant, more than 15 grid stations on the main supply line tripped resulting in power blackout throughout the city up till Gharo.

This is the third major power breakdown in the city in a span of one week, which happened due to a major fault that occurred in the transmission and distribution system of power distributor K-Electric.

The outage has affected a large number of areas in the city, including Liaqatabad, Malir, North Karachi, Azizabad, Saddar, Nazimabad, North Nazimabad, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Gulistan-i-Jauhar, Federal B Area and Garden.

There are reports that power supply to Port Qasim, Pakistan Steel Mills and industrial areas were also suspended.

The power breakdown also affected commercial activities of the city with business centres and markets turned dark, and people facing difficulties making their way out of densely populated shopping malls.

K-Electric did not give any timeframe when their engineers would fully rectify the fault.

People in various localities faced hardship because of the widespread breakdown that caught them unawares, particularly at a time when Ramazan’s final days have begun and preparations for Eid are round the corner.

Karachi’s electricity distribution system is a complex, and delicate, web and a major fault at one section often leads to chain reactions and breakdowns of power generation and transmission.