Hyderabad: The Telangana state government is all set to ban the use of air conditioners in all the government offices to combat acute power shortage in the state.

It is also considering change of office timings without lunch break in all the government offices from 8 am to 2 pm. With the power situation in the state worsening, the government is left with no option, but to implement energy saving measures.

Chief Minister K Chandra Sekhar Rao is expected to hold meetings with power officials after coming back from three-day Delhi trip to discuss and finalise energy saving measures.

With Mr Rao himself claiming that there would be no end to power woes at this stage, the energy department is exploring all the options to initiate austerity measures.

Instructions must be given to all the government offices and other establishments to use sunlight as far as possible and avoid using tube lights/bulbs.

LED streetlights will be fitted in all the municipalities as part of the energy conservation. Plans are being readied to supply LED bulbs to domestic consumers for subsidised price of just Rs 10 against the market price of Rs 400.

“The government will launch a mass campaign on energy saving, with a theme, that conserving energy is the social responsibility of every citizen in this hour of crisis.

Saving energy automatically amounts to producing energy,” said T. Harish Rao, the irrigation minister. Of the two crore consumers, even if half of them will off the tube lights for an hour about 400 MW could be conserved, he said.

Mr Harish Rao added that the power situation will improve within a year and in three years the state will become power-surplus.