Power Restored in Pakistan After Countrywide Blackout

Pakistan’s energy minister said Tuesday morning that power has been restored throughout the country after millions of Pakistanis lost their electricity due to a major breakdown in the country’s electric grid on a cold winter day. The power was completely restored some 24 hours after the countrywide blackout. It is the second major power grid failure in three months and was said to be caused by a voltage surge. People in several cities throughout the country also were without water, since the pumps are powered by electricity; Internet service also was largely down. Backup generators allowed some hospitals, government offices, schools, and airports to continue operating. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered a high-level inquiry to determine the exact cause of the failure. Still, blackouts are common in Pakistan since the country’s power transmission infrastructure is in dire need of upgrading.  “We learned lessons from yesterday that we need to invest in the distribution system,” Federal Energy Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan told reporters in announcing the restoration of power.