KARACHI: Power was suddenly disrupted in many areas of the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) on a particularly hot and humid Sunday morning after the K-Electric grid station located on Khayaban-i-Ittihad caught fire.

Black smoke could be seen coming out of the grid station from a distance, which proved very worrisome for the residents of the area.

As a result of the fire, phases V, VI, VII and VIII remained without electricity for several hours. The major affected areas included the 26th Street, Seaview and Darakhshan Townships, Khayaban-i-Mujahid, Khayaban-i-Shaheen, Khayaban-i-Muhafiz, Khaya­ban-i-Muslim, Khayaban-i-Hilal, Khayaban-i-Nishat, Khayaban-i-Rahat, Khayaban-i-Sehar, Khayaban-i-Shujaat and Khayaban-i-Bukhari.

The residents of these areas told Dawn that when they called KE to find out what happened, they were informed that it was a minor incident due to which repair restoration work was under way and power was expected to be restored by around 1pm. Then at 1pm when the power could not be restored, they were asked to expect it back around 2pm or 3pm.

Most residents did, however, report that their power was restored after 3pm. Some said their power was restored by 5pm. That said, till late night, there were still some residents, who said they had been without power since 8am. Those who were unaware of the grid station fire were very upset about being subjected to unannounced loadshedding, which the KE had to clarify as not the case on its social media.

KE says supply was affected due to a ‘minor incident’ at one of grids serving DHA

According to a KE spokesperson, power supply to areas associated with the grid station was completely restored by Sunday afternoon.

“A temporary shutdown was taken at the grid to allow teams to undertake restoration, while nearby grid stations were used to route electricity to as many of the affected areas through alternate channels,” read a handout released by the power utility later.

“K-Electric remained available to support and guide customers via its call centre 118 and through its social media platforms,” the handout added.

Without acknowledging the fire, the spokesperson said: “The supply had been affected due to a minor incident at the grid earlier in the day, which was immediately brought under control.”

Published in Dawn, June 12th, 2023