Nationwide Blackout Leaves Pakistan Without Power for Hours

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A nationwide blackout left hospitals, schools, factories, and tens of millions of homes without power across Pakistan on Monday.

The federal energy minister, Khurram Dastgir-Khan, blamed the outage on a surge that knocked out the country’s electricity grid. This blackout was reminiscent of a massive outage in January 2021, attributed at the time to a technical fault in the country’s power generation and distribution system.

The blackout occurred as Pakistan struggles through a harsh winter, and the government is attempting to conserve the country’s rapidly-dwindling fuel supplies. To do this, electricity is often cut off during low usage hours overnight, especially in the winter when demand is highest.

However, this strategy backfired on Monday morning, leaving much of the country without power for several hours. The blackout was so severe that technicians were unable to boot up the system all at once after daybreak.

The blackout caused disruption to everyday life, with vendors using backup lights at their stalls in markets and workers waiting for electricity outside their workshops. The government has yet to comment on the cause of the blackout or the estimated time for power to be restored.