LAHORE: The thunderstorm caused massive losses to the power supply infrastructure, leaving many areas without electricity for hours as about 300 feeders of the 11kV distribution network tripped in Lahore and adjoining areas.
Lahore was among the worst hit districts along with Kasur and Sheikhupura and these districts received heavy rain with hail storm at places along with heavy winds that uprooted trees, electric poles, transformers, high-tension wires/cables and other equipment at 11kV feeders and grid stations etc.
“We spent many hours without light soon after the start of heavy rain in the wee hours of Saturday. Though our UPS worked for a couple of hours, the rest of the time was tough to pass without electricity,” Basit, a resident of Johar Town (B-Block), said while talking to Dawn on Saturday. “Though we registered our complaint, no one reached out to us despite the passage of 7/8 hours. And finally some people from Lesco came and removed the fault, restoring power supply to our areas,” he added.
According to another resident, he didn’t see such a thunderstorm in the past that disrupted the power supply system badly.
Trips 282 feeders of 11kV, including around 200 in provincial capital
“For the last many years, I didn’t witness such a thunderstorm that woke me and my family up while we all were in deep sleep. I immediately rushed to switch off the home appliances (refrigerator, AC etc) after observing fluctuation in the power supply system,” he says, adding that the power supply to his area was restored at about 2pm or so.
Similar events were reported from other parts of the city including Township, Green Town, Wapda Town, Pine Avenue, Airline society, Canal Road, Garden Town, Muslim Town, Thokar Niaz Baig, Multan Road, Kharak, Sabzazar, Gulshan-i-Ravi, Bhati, Islampura, Mughalpura, Gulberg, Jail Road, Kotli Pir Abdul Rehman, Garhi Shahu, GT Road, Harbanspura, Shalamar, Salamatpura, Raiwind Road, Ferozepur Road, Mall Road and Chowk Nakhuda.
According to a senior official of the Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco), Saturday’s thunderstorm left the field staff in several subdivisions on their toes from night to day hours as they remained busy in correcting faults, energising feeders and restoring power supply in several parts of Lahore, Kasur and Sheikhupura.
“The thunderstorm tripped 282 feeders of 11kV capacity, including around 200 in Lahore alone. But since our field teams were ready to face such an emergent situation, they rushed to their areas in a bid to energise the tripped feeders soon after the rain stopped. So they succeeded in energising all feeders till afternoon on Saturday,” Lesco CEO Ramzan Butt claimed while talking to Dawn.
According to him, besides Lahore, various parts of Kasur and Sheikhupura districts were also affected by the thunderstorm. However, the districts of Okara and Nankana remained safe as no such complaints were reported there.
Talking about the losses, Mr Butt said though the estimate in this regard would take some days to finalise, the Lesco system/infrastructure has been hit badly by the thunderstorm.
“There are various incidents where the trees fell down on the overhead wires after being uprooted by the speedy winds. Many poles have been reportedly uprooted. Similarly, several transformers went out of the system after being burnt for other reasons,” the Lesco chief maintained, adding that since the priority was to restore power supply through alternative resources, the respective officers had been asked to prepare the list of damages caused by the thunderstorm.
To a question, he said of the total 2,200, over 280 feeders tripped.
On the other hand, the absence of electricity also affected the water supply system (tube wells operation) of the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa).
“Due to electricity issue, we couldn’t operate our motors to extract water from the Wasa system that was found idle due to non-operative tube wells owing to absence of electricity,” said a resident of Township. However, we started receiving water after the light was restored, enabling Wasa to start tube wells operation.
Meanwhile, heavy rain inundated various roads and low-lying areas and localities in Lahore, forcing the Wasa’s field operation teams to mobilise to the affected areas and ensure early drainage of the accumulated rainwater.
There were reports related to accumulated rainwater at various underpasses.
The Wasa MD and chief traffic officer (CTO) also paid joint visits to various affected parts of the city to review arrangements aimed at ensuring effective drainage and uninterrupted traffic flow during the rain.
Published in Dawn, May 31st, 2026
