QUETTA: Electricity supply to many areas of Balochistan, including the provincial capital Quetta, could not be restored till late at night after a country-wide breakdown on Monday.

According to reports, people in 32 out of 35 districts in the province were without electricity since 7:30 am.

The supply to three districts of Makran division remained uninterrupted as Iran provided power to these areas.

The blackout also impacted operations and medical procedures in seven public sector hospitals in Quetta. Mobile signals also remained suspended for hours while residents also faced water shortages.

A spokesman for Quetta Electric Supply Company said three transmission lines, including 220kv Uch-Sibi, 220kv Dadu-Khuzdar and 220kv Dera Murad Jamali tripped, resulting in the outage.The power supply to Quetta and other areas was affected as 70 grid stations tripped, Qesco Spokesman Muhammad Afzal Baloch told Dawn.

Published in Dawn, January 24th, 2023