The Ministry of Power has on Saturday said that there should be no apprehensions that the switching off of lights at 9 PM this Sunday for 9 minutes will result in voltage fluctuations and harm electrical appliances.

"The Prime Minister has appealed to voluntarily switch off lights between 9:00 pm to 9:09 pm on April 5. Some apprehensions have been expressed that this may cause instability in grid and voltage fluctuation, which may harm electrical appliances. These apprehensions are misplaced," the Ministry today said.

In a statement, the Ministry said that the Regional and State Load Despatch Centres are prepared for tomorrow's nation-wide exercise.

"There is no call to switch off either streetlights or appliances like TVs, Refrigerators and ACs at homes. People are assured not to worry and continue running all the appliances as usual. Local bodies may be advised to keep the streetlights on so as to avoid any law and order problems. The lights in hospitals and other essential services will remain on," the Ministry says.

#PIBFactCheck : No need to worry, adequate protocols/arrangements are in place to handle the variation in demand when people switch off their lights for #9Baje9Minutes tomorrow ie Sunday on the PM's appeal to show solidarity over #Covid_19india #IndiaFightsCorona pic.twitter.com/1VlJJChfcp

— PIB India ???? #StayHome #StaySafe (@PIB_India) April 4, 2020