JAMMU: The Union Ministry of Power today said that streetlights and electric home appliances should not be switched off during the Prime Minister’s nine-minute blackout call for April 05, 2020 at 9 pm.
In an advisory to Principal Secretary/Secretary (Power) J&K, the Union Ministry said the appeal of the Prime Minister to the people is to voluntarily switch off only the lights at 9 pm on 05 April, 2020. There is no call to switch off either streetlights or appliances like TVs, Refrigerators and ACs in homes.
“Adequate arrangements and protocols are in place to handle the variation in demand. People should be assured not to worry and continue running all the appliances as usual.
“Local bodies may be advised to keep the street lights on so as to avoid any law and order problems. The lights in hospitals and other essential services will remain on,” the advisory reads.
It also said that the National Load Despatch Centre has worked out the procedures for grid balancing during the nine-minute period which they will be communicating to the Regional and State Load Despatch Centres separately.