Reduced Business Hours.

As part of the energy conservation drive, Sindh and Punjab announced that business hours would be reduced for the upcoming month so that the shortfall between the demand and supply of electricity can be handled. Following their footsteps, Islamabad has also officially announced that all businesses will shut down by 9pm or 10pm. The motivation behind this new policy is clear but it will only be effective if it is implemented properly. Without ensuring that these efforts actually provide relief, this change will be cosmetic at best.

The order issued for Islamabad clarified that operational hours for businesses like shopping malls, bakeries, confectionaries, offices, storerooms, warehouses and more would end at 9pm. On the other hand, marriage halls, marquees and exhibition halls can remain open until 10pm, but no later. The expectation is that this will reduce the pressure on the power sector by reducing demand significantly. Furthermore, it is also to protect business owners and shopkeepers from increasingly high electric bills.

Theoretically...