Thunderstorm damages power network in Lahore, adjoining areas

LAHORE: A powerful thunderstorm disrupted electricity supply across Lahore and nearby districts, damaging power infrastructure and leaving many neighbourhoods without electricity for several hours, according to officials and residents.

The storm affected Lahore most severely, along with Kasur and Sheikhupura, where heavy rain, strong winds and hail in some areas uprooted trees, power poles, transformers and high-tension wires, and also damaged equipment linked to 11kV feeders and grid stations. About 300 feeders of the 11kV distribution network tripped in Lahore and adjoining areas, while Lesco chief executive Ramzan Butt said 282 feeders were affected, including around 200 in Lahore.

Power outages were reported in several parts of the city, including Johar Town, Township, Green Town, Wapda Town, Pine Avenue, Airline Society, Canal Road, Garden Town, Muslim Town, Thokar Niaz Baig, Multan Road, Sabzazar, Gulshan-i-Ravi, Islampura, Mughalpura, Gulberg, Jail Road, Garhi Shahu, GT Road, Harbanspura, Shalamar, Raiwind Road, Ferozepur Road, Mall Road and Chowk Nakhuda, among other localities.

Residents described extended disruptions following the storm in the early hours of Saturday. One Johar Town resident, Basit, said his area remained without electricity for several hours despite a complaint being registered. He told Dawn that Lesco staff later reached the area and restored supply after removing the fault. Another resident said he had not seen such a severe thunderstorm in recent years and added that electricity in his area returned at around 2pm.

Lesco CEO Ramzan Butt told Dawn that field staff in several subdivisions worked from the night through the day to remove faults, re-energise feeders and restore supply in Lahore, Kasur and Sheikhupura.

Attributing the restoration effort to the readiness of operational teams, Butt said all tripped feeders had been energised by Saturday afternoon. He added that Okara and Nankana were not affected and that no similar complaints were reported there.

Butt said it would take several days to determine the financial impact of the storm, but described the damage to the utility’s system as significant. He said trees had fallen onto overhead wires after being uprooted by strong winds, many poles had reportedly been uprooted, and several transformers had gone out of service after burning out. He said officers had been directed to compile a list of losses while the immediate focus remained restoration of supply through alternative arrangements.

The outages also disrupted water supply in some parts of Lahore because tube wells operated by the Water and Sanitation Agency could not run without electricity. A resident of Township said water could not be extracted while the tube wells remained non-operational during the outage, adding that supply resumed after electricity was restored and Wasa restarted operations.

Meanwhile, heavy rain also submerged roads and low-lying areas in the city, prompting Wasa field teams to move to affected locations to drain accumulated water. Reports of standing rainwater were also received from various underpasses. The Wasa managing director and the chief traffic officer jointly visited different affected parts of Lahore to review drainage arrangements and traffic management during the rain.