SUKKUR/LARKANA: The Sukkur Electric Power Company (Sepco) has declared an emergency across its operational region after a severe storm caused widespread damage to the power network, plunging millions in 10 districts into darkness.
The powerful storm, accompanied by intense rainfall and hailstorms, swept across Sukkur, Larkana, Shikarpur, Jacobabad, Kandhkot-Kashmore, Ghotki, and Khairpur districts in Upper Sindh.
The severe weather caused widespread devastation to the power transmission infrastructure, plunging the region into a state of total blackout. The intensity of the windy storm resulted in significant structural damage to the electrical distribution network. Almost all feeders and many utility poles were uprooted or collapsed under the pressure of the winds in these districts.
Multiple instances of 11kV high-tension power lines have been reported snapped and fallen across various residential and commercial areas, posing a severe safety risk to the public.
Life disrupted across Sukkur, Larkana, Shikarpur, Jacobabad, Kandhkot-Kashmore, Ghotki and Khairpur districts
The prolonged outage has paralysed normal life, disrupted essential services, and halted water supplies, causing extreme distress to the inhabitants of these districts.
Despite the passage of time, Sepco has failed to restore the power supply while public frustration is mounting due to the lack of emergency response and the continued silence from Sepco authorities regarding a timeline for restoration.
Meanwhile, Sepco chief executive Aijaz Ahmed Channa toured the worst-affected areas on Wednesday, telling reporters that 27 of 46 grid stations knocked offline had been restored, along with 146 of 400 feeders.
The crisis remains unresolved in Larkana — the hardest-hit district — and nine others. As a stopgap, Sepco is routing power to Larkana via a 132 KV line from Dadu, though Mr Channa acknowledged the line was ageing. Consumers are receiving a two-hour-on, two-hour-off rotation while full repairs continue. A fallen transmission tower near Nasirabad has further complicated the alternative supply route.
Mr Channa said the storm destroyed transmission lines, towers and utility poles across the region, with the 220 KV double-circuit lines from Lodran — Larkana’s main supply link — and 123 KV lines both badly damaged. He added that the theft of structural components from certain pylons had already weakened the network before the storm struck. Sepco sources said 23 towers and lines on the 132 KV network were destroyed, while three 66 KV grid stations were also affected.
Complete restoration is expected to take between 48 and 72 hours, with repair teams working around the clock.
Mr Channa repeated a longstanding appeal for a 500 KV grid station in Larkana — already sanctioned — saying it would provide a permanent solution to the district’s chronic power problems. The Sepco board chairman, Ghulam Mustafa Leghari, and senior officials monitored the situation throughout the night.
The outage is causing severe hardship in a region baking at 48–49°C. Tertiary hospitals in Larkana are struggling, with no robust backup power to maintain an uninterrupted supply. Drinking water has become scarce as most households depend on electric pumps or hand motors and lack solar alternatives. Medicines stored in refrigerators and deep freezers face spoilage risks.
Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2026
