By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority imposed a Rs25 million penalty on K-Electric Ltd., holding the power utility accountable for exacerbating a nationwide blackout that plunged the country into darkness for nearly a day.
The fine, announced Thursday, stems from a probe into the January 23, 2023, grid collapse that began at precisely 7:34 a.m. and left millions without power for several hours, with full restoration not achieved until about 20 hours later on January 24. The incident, one of the most severe in Pakistan’s recent history, exposed vulnerabilities in the country’s interconnected power grid, where K-Electric’s operations in the south interface with the National Transmission and Despatch Co.’s national network.
Nepra, exercising its oversight powers, launched an inquiry committee shortly after the blackout to dissect the chain of events. The panel conducted on-site inspections at power plants, grid stations and offices, while gathering statements from officials and supporting records to build its case. At the time of the failure, K-Electric was fully synchronised with the NTDC system.
The bulk of its network, including all generation assets, fed into the North Karachi Industrial substation, with another segment tied to the 220-kilovolt NTDC Jhimpir-II grid station. The utility’s total load stood at 1,246 megawatts, split between 708 megawatts imported from NTDC—521 megawatts via NKI and 187 megawatts through Jhimpir-II—and 538 megawatts from its own plants, primarily Bin Qasim Power Station-III at 498 megawatts and Sahiwal Nitrogen Power Complex at 40 megawatts.
The cascade began at 7:34:15:250 a.m. with the isolation of K-Electric from the NKI substation, creating an immediate 521-megawatt shortfall. The NKI-KE Cross Trip Scheme kicked in, automatically shedding 283 megawatts from K-Electric’s network. With the deficit persisting, the under-frequency load-shedding mechanism activated, dumping an additional 341 megawatts. That brought the total shed to 624 megawatts, more than enough to offset the 521-megawatt gap and stabilise the system, according to the inquiry’s findings.
What unraveled the safeguards was the unexpected trip of Unit 10 at Bin Qasim Power Station-III, a 249-megawatt unit, triggered by a “Combustion Chamber Acceleration” fault. The committee deemed this explanation technically unconvincing, lacking any solid engineering basis. The anomaly set off a domino effect: Unit 20 at the same station, rated at 239 megawatts, tripped next, followed by the full 40-megawatt Sahiwal Nitrogen Power Complex plant under overload conditions. Restoration efforts got underway at 8:32 a.m. on January 23, leaning on black-start-capable facilities at Tapal Power Plant, Bin Qasim Power Station-II and Karachi Cogeneration Power Plant. Gul Ahmed Power Plant joined the push at 10:00 a.m. Yet the recovery faltered as all but Gul Ahmed’s unit buckled in isolated “island mode,” tripping repeatedly and dragging out the reconnection process.
Nepra’s verdict says the K-Electric fell short in upholding its duties under Section 14B(4) of the Nepra Act, Rule 10(6) of the Nepra Licensing (Generation) Rules, 2000, and multiple clauses of the Grid Code, specifically OC 8.1.1, 8.1.4, 8.2.1, 8.2.2 and 8.2.3. “The authority did not find KE’s response satisfactory,” the regulator stated in its order. The Rs25 million penalty must be wired to Nepra’s designated account within 15 days of the order’s issuance, with a payment confirmation filed at the registrar’s office. Noncompliance invites enforcement under Section 41 of the Nepra Act, alongside the Fine Regulations, 2021, treating the amount as recoverable land-revenue arrears.
K-Electric, which serves about 3.5 million customers in Karachi and surrounding areas, pushed back on the ruling. “The imposition of a penalty for a breakdown caused by a disturbance in the NTDC system was surprising,” a company spokesperson said. The utility is poring over Nepra’s full determination and “will determine its future course of action accordingly.”
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