Many areas of the city plunged into darkness after a major power breakdown occured on Saturday night.

The sudden blackout that started at around 8:00pm and lasted for several hours caused inconveniences for the citizens.

Eid shopping was badly hit by the electricity collapse. Worshippers offering Tarawih prayers in mosques also faced problems. Areas from Saddar to Gulshan-e-Hadeed plunged into darkness after three main transmission lines of electricity — two 220 KV and one 132 KV lines — tripped due to unknown reasons.

Reports indicated that the power breakdown hit Saddar, Garden, Lyari, Malir, Gulshan-e-Hadeed, various parts of District East, West, and Central.

A KESC spokesman said the cause of the blackout was not indentified but the restoration of the system was under way.

He maintained that 20 out of 64 grid stations of the city were shutdown due to the tripping of the main lines but expressed hope that electricity would be restored within an hour.

He believed an attempt to steal electricity wire of high-tension line or any dust or thunderstorm in a far-flung area may have caused the incident.

In a statement issued late on Saturday night, the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation said that majority of the tripped power grids had been repaired and electricity supply restored to most of the areas.

“The KESC’s technical teams have been dispatched to fix the remaining grids.” It was stated that the KESC CEO had personally visited the control room and ordered the restoration work.