132kV STDC tower collapses: Nasir Shah’s action helps restore power supply to Karachi

KARACHI: Sindh Minister for Energy, Development, and Planning Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, stated that due to flooding at Thaddo Dam, a 132kV tower of the Sindh Transmission & Dispatch Company (STDC) collapsed, resulting in an interruption of 100 MW electricity supply to Karachi. Acting promptly, Minister Shah directed STDC CEO Saleem Ahmed Sheikh to immediately restore the tower and resume power transmission to Karachi.

Following Minister Shah’s instructions, CEO STDC Saleem Sheikh and his team—including Senior GM Tariq Saeed, Technical Manager Saad Zuberi, and Assistant Technical Manager Muhammad Bilal successfully erected the collapsed tower on a temporary basis, restoring 100 MW electricity supply to Karachi.

Saleem Sheikh informed Minister Nasir Shah that on the night of 9 September 2025, around 8 PM, Tower No. 349 of the 132kV double-circuit transmission line from Sindh Noriabad Power Company (SNPC) to K-Electric’s DA 33 Grid Station in Karachi collapsed due to the Thaddo Dam flooding. This caused an immediate disruption of 100 MW power supply to Karachi.

The STDC team promptly reported the incident to Minister Nasir Shah, who instructed them to take immediate emergency measures using all available resources. Saleem Sheikh further stated that under normal circumstances, installing a new tower would take approximately one month; however, the STDC team, making history, re-erected the fallen tower on a temporary basis in record time with the help of long boom cranes and expert transmission line teams, restoring electricity supply in the shortest possible time. Construction of a new permanent tower has also been initiated.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025