LAHORE, May 9: A Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) official said on Wednesday it could not quantify the result of its energy conservation plan as weather in different parts of the country had improved since Monday.

He says demand for 500 megawatt electricity decreased on Monday evening because of government’s energy conservation measures and a windy storm followed by rains in the Peshawar region.

A windy and rainy storm also hit the central Punjab on Tuesday bringing down demand for power there as well. The power deficit has come down to 800 megawatt. On Tuesday, the demand for power was restricted to 14,000 mw against the supply of 13,200 mw. Had it not been good weather and conservation efforts, the demand would have stood at 15,000 mw, a Wapda official said.

The government has announced the closure of all shops by 8pm every day to save electricity through legislation. The government asked the public to switch off neon signs, stagger holidays and use agriculture tube wells in off-peak hours to save energy and in return got a good response.

There is a debate going on in the authority that how much electricity can be saved through shops closure. Some of the planners think up to 700 mw electricity will be saved while others maintain only 300 to 400 mw can be saved. The actual figures would be ascertained once summer turned hot, they said.

District Labour Officer Chaudhry Nasrullah, who is also in charge of the power campaign, says that the district government had concentrated only on big markets in the city and had a partial success in closing shops by 8pm.

“All shops in Defence Housing Authority were closed by 8pm on Monday and so were Fortress Stadium. Anarkali Bazaar suffered routine loadshedding at 8pm and was completely shuttered by the time electricity returned after 30 minutes.

Shopkeepers on The Mall and Liberty Market showed resistance to the closure first off but later pulled their shutters down by 9.30pm, he said and added: “They have assured the government that they would cooperate if they get 30 minutes extra and the policy of closure is even handed.”

Mr Nasrullah said the government would decide its options to enforce the shop closure act in the next two to three days depending on the shopkeepers’ response. Around 70 per cent of the shops are closed by 8pm and the rest are falling in line, he says.

Traders, however, say the cost of early closure is the biggest deterrent for them to comply with the decision. They say weather remains harsh by 7pm in summer and closing shops at 8pm means 90 per cent drop in sales.

“The government should make the closure time a bit more realistic,” says Shabir Dogar, shop owner on The Mall.

They said they understood magnitude and depth of the power crisis but only wanted to minimise their losses. So far, the government had shown understanding of the shopkeepers’ concern. Once a consensus was evolved, implementation should not be a problem, he said.