LAHORE: Rainstorm and strong winds lashed power installations in Muzaffargarh district on Friday, cutting the electricity available in the national grid by 1,550MW.

The storm hit five circuits of the transmission system and 13 towers of 220KV and two towers of 500KV were uprooted, according to sources.

The damage sustained by the transmission system cut off supply from AES Lalpir and Pak-Gen power plants and curtailed the production of Kapco unit, causing a cumulative loss of 1,550MW and taking the country’s shortfall to about 6,000MW.

By 10.30pm, engineers and technicians of the National Transmission and Distribution Company (NTDC) managed to restore the supply of 250MW.

“Re-erecting electricity towers is a time-consuming job and will take a while,” an NTDC official said.

Answering a question, he said the duration of loadshedding would increase across the country, he added.

He said the area hit by strong winds had four major power plants and the transmission lines crisscrossed it, taking electricity in every direction.

According to a correspondent, an electricity pylon fell in the middle of the Muzaffargarh-Mahmoodkot Road, suspending traffic on the highway.

The district also received hails which damaged the cotton crop. The rain began in the afternoon and continued till 8pm.