Punjab: AAP govt changes office timings to save power

Chandigarh: Chief minister Bhagwant Mann led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab on Saturday announced to change the office timings from the existing timings of 9 am to 5 pm, to 7.30 am to 2 pm from May 2 till July 15, to save electricity consumption during the peak summer season.

Announcing this in a video message, Mann claimed that while such a system was in practice in several countries abroad, it was the first time that such a step was being taken in India. Elaborating upon it, he said that many foreign countries had a system to "adjust their watches’’ according to seasons to make the optimum use of the sunshine and save electricity.

State government will have to spend less on electricity

Stating that the said move would also ensure efficiency in official working, besides saving electricity, he said that it could also save the peak load of 300 MW to 350 MW in summers. The step aims at easing electricity demand during scorching heat, meaning, the state government may have to spend less to procure electricity to meet the high demand during this period.

Mann also said that the new timing would also give ample time to employees to spend time with their families while they would also give timely services to the people visiting their offices before the beginning of scorching heat after 2 pm. He specified that the said decision had been taken after due consultation with all the stakeholders.

Government cleared entire power subsidy bill

In another related development, Mann had told newspersons on Friday that his government had cleared the entire power subsidy bill of ₹20,200 crore for the last fiscal and that his government would ensure uninterrupted power supply to the people.

He said that the entire subsidy bill of ₹20,200 crore had been paid to the Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd and that this amount comprised ₹9,063 crore for domestic electricity to agriculture sector, ₹8,225 crore for domestic consumer and ₹2,910 crore for subsidised power to industry.