Switch Off Only Lights; Power Ministry On PM Modi’s ‘Light A Lamp’ Call

Apr 05, 2020, 09:41 IST

New Delhi: In an official statement on Saturday, the Ministry of Power clarified on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal to switch off lights between 9:00 p.m to 9:09 pm on Sunday, April 5, that it does not extend to electrical appliances like computers, TVs, fans, refrigerators and ACs or street lights.

The Ministry in a statement said, "The appeal of the Prime Minister is to simply switch off the lights in their homes from 9 pm to 9.09 pm on the 5th of April. There is no call to switch off either street lights or appliances like Computers, TVs, Fans, Refrigerators and ACs in the homes. Only lights should be switched off."

The statement further said the lights in hospitals and all other essential services like Public Utilities, Municipal Services, Offices, Police Stations, Manufacturing Facilities, etc will remain on.

On Friday, Modi's appeal met with criticism that this appeal may cause instability in the grid and fluctuation in voltage which may harm the electrical appliances.

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor and Maharashtra Energy Minister Nitin Raut said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call to switch off lights might lead to failure of power grid.

An unprecedented drop in electricity demand at 9pm Sunday &an immediate surge at 9.09 pm could cause the electrical grid to crash. So Electricity Boards are contemplating load shedding from 8 pm & staggered return to normal after 9.09pm. One more thing the PM didn’t think about! pic.twitter.com/zbmcyYm838

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) April 4, 2020

Energy minister @NitinRaut_INC requested @PMOIndia not to ask shutting down power rather ask to light only candles or lamps on April 5. He said, shutting down light will create problem at power grid & once power grid is trip down, it takes 16 hours to restore @NewIndianXpress pic.twitter.com/AEH5j9LCU4

— Sudhir Suryawanshi (@ss_suryawanshi) April 4, 2020

However, the ministry of power clarified this too in the official statement. "The Indian electricity grid is robust and stable and adequate arrangements and protocols are in place to handle the variation in demand," the statement read.

In a video message on Friday, the Prime Minister asked citizens to turn all lights off in their houses at 9 pm on Sunday (April 5) and to stand at their doors or windows with a candle, diya and torch for nine minutes in a battle against the COVID-19.

Also Read: Grid Instability And Power Fluctuations Fear Misplaced: Power Ministry