KARACHI: A major power failure occurred in cities across Pakistan late Sunday night, DawnNews reported.

Urban centres including Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Gujranwala, Multan, Quetta and Peshawar were affected after a fault developed in the National Power Control Centre (NPCC).

A 1200-megawatt Hubco power plant tripped which lead to a system failure across Pakistan, according to the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda).

In Karachi 36 grid stations have tripped. At least 70 per cent of the city has plunged into darkness, reports suggest. In the rest of Sindh there are reports of power failures.

In Quetta and surrounding areas of the provincial capital, power supply was suspended too following the fault at NPCC. Apart from Quetta, power supply has gone in northern and central districts of Balochistan.

Cities in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are also facing the same difficulty, with reports suggesting several cities experiencing power outages.

People are facing great difficulties after the abrupt power breakdown.

Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has taken notice of the power breakdown. PM House has issued a statement saying that the prime minister is monitoring the situation.

Officials from the Ministry of Water and Power have said that officers are working on the technical problems.