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140 million left without power in Pakistan

By Andrew V. Pestano

ISLAMABAD, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- About 140 million people in Pakistan experienced a power outage as the country continues facing an energy crisis.

The reason for Sunday's outage that left about 80 percent of Pakistan without electricity is not determined. Ongoing outages are common in Pakistan.

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Initially, there were claims that the outage was a result of a terrorist attack, but Pakistani Deputy Minister for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali said an important power transmission line broke down at 1 a.m.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif issued emergency instructions to bring back the power supply immediately. Most of the power has been restored, but many are still waiting.

Pakistan generates about 7,000 MW of electricity but consumes about 14,000 MW. The country is also facing a shortage of furnace oil. Sharif canceled his trip to the World Economic Forum to deal with the oil shortage.

Government-owned Pakistan State Oil had to cut imports last week because banks refused to extend credit to the company, which supplies 80 percent of Pakistan's oil needs.

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