ISLAMABAD: An inquiry report regarding the country-wide power outage on January 23 has been prepared and submitted to the cabinet. The report suggested a departmental inquiry before action against key officials of power management authorities.
The federal cabinet will review the report prepared by the committee that Musadik Malik, the minister of petroleum, convened at its meeting, which is scheduled for next week.
Power breakdown report
The report outlined the causes of the breakdown. It further blamed the representatives from the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC), National Electric Power Regulatory Association (NEPRA), power control management, and the shift in charge and his team for this major crisis.
Before taking any further action against them, it has advised departmental investigation.
There was no shortage of electricity when the breakdown of the HVDC (High Voltage Direct Current) system occurred in Lahore. Since 600 megawatts more electricity from Sindh was added to the system.
The investigative report also reveals that the Lahore HVDC system had erupted 300 times over the previous two years. But no one paid any attention.
It claimed that three power units of the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) are responsible for the delay in power system restoration following the breakdown.
A shortage of experts, poor technology, and poor coordination were the main reasons behind this breakdown. The absence of unity of command among NTDC, NEPRA, and other concerned institutes was also declared as the main reason.
National Power Control Center’s (NPCC) control room operates the system of generation and transmission. As NPCC is the nerve centre. This center is located in Islamabad.
Moreover, the report suggested NEPRA, the regulator, and the system operator should work together. In order to create protocols to prevent and handle such situations when power generators can’t be used for system security.
