Power has been disconnected in 228 branches of 125 feeders due to rising floodwaters in 12 districts of south Punjab, according to the Multan Electric Power Company (Mepco).

“Due to the increase in floodwater in 12 districts of south Punjab, power has been disconnected in 228 branches of 125 feeders,” a statement by the utility company said.

“The total number of consumers in these districts is 691,748, of which only 69,580 consumers have had their power disconnected under the safety SOPs, which is only 2.43 per cent of the total number of consumers,” the statement said.

In the Mepco region, 1,776 settlements have been affected by the floods, and 2,915 distribution transformers of various capacities supplying electricity to these settlements have been made safe due to being submerged, while 146 poles have been damaged by floodwater.

On the instructions of Chief Executive Officer Engineer Gul Muhammad Zahid, monitoring of power supply and transmission is ongoing in the flood control room established at Mepco headquarters, the statement added.