LAHORE, June 2: The Pakistan Electric Power Company (PepCo) on Monday disconnected power supply to neon signs installed at the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) precincts and made the administration agree to close the Fortress Stadium market by 9pm.

According to the PepCo officials, the conservation measure has yielded 700MW to the company, which, considering the current crunch, was a big achievement.

They claimed that the CAA was put on notice that power supplied to it was not meant for neon signs installed at airports and it risked cut in power supply in case it failed to switch off such lights. The authority complied with it and power supply to all neon signs was disconnected on Monday.

The only problem PepCO has been facing so far was big markets of Lahore and Islamabad, which were resisting the drive on the pretext of opening of markets like Fortress Stadium and such other shops.

The matter was taken up with the managers of these markets and they have agreed to pull their shutters down by 9pm.

The PepCo was now pressing other traders, who maintained that they had no problems as long as all shops were closed by 9pm. Since the shops closure had now become universal, the company expected voluntary compliance by all shopkeepers.

The company was also trying to convince big markets to stagger their holidays, but had not succeeded so far.

However, the industry had agreed to stagger holidays. In fact, it had already started doing the same, saving around 60MW on this head alone. Daylight saving had also touched 200MW and overall impact of the measure was around 700MW, the company officials said.

The company even switched off air-conditioning units of Wapda House for three hours in the morning. “It is a symbolic gesture to prove the company is taking the conservations drive very seriously,” said an official.The only area where the company could not keep its check was air-conditioning at offices. But, since air conditioning is provided to grade 20 and above officers, the company officials expressed the hope that they would do so voluntarily.

Even otherwise, the total air-conditioning load was only 20MW and did not make much difference except for psychological impact.

The company officials along with employees of the labour department and the district government were out in the field to ensure compliance by markets and the drive was likely to bring good results.

So far, it had been a successful experience, they said.“We have no problems closing our shops at the stipulated time provided every one does,” says Muhammad Ramzan, a shopkeeper from Gulberg.

The problem was with selective application of the decision, which could affect our business. As long as the application of order was for all, we had no problem in contributing to the national cause, he said.