All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) representing power engineers in Uttar Pradesh responded to the call of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for switching off lights for nine minutes on Sunday evening, by advising power engineers to be on high alert and ensure the stability of national power grid at state, regional and national level.
AIPEF chairman Shailendra Dubey took the issue at the highest level on April 3 and wrote to the prime minister and the Union power minister, raising concerns arising out of sudden switching off of all lights.
He requested the prime minister to issue directions to central power utilities to review the situation and issue advisory guidelines to states for reliable and secure operation of grid during the nine minutes of lights being switched off.
Dubey appreciated the prompt response and efforts of the PM Office and power ministry as central power utilities worked on this and instructions were given to the states.
Dubey said that power engineers were prepared to perform under difficult situations and were working round-the-clock to provide uninterrupted power supply. 
The AIPEF appealed to power engineers manning thermal and hydro power stations to ensure that the load fluctuation was managed in optimum manner.
The procedures and precautions to be observed were to be analysed and determined in advance so that generating units were able to respond to load changes.
The AIPEF said that state load dispatch centres had to maintain close coordination with respective regional load dispatch centres in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Shillong, so that stability of regional and national grids were maintained under direction and control of RLDCs. Chief engineer of each SLDC has to be available in the SLDC control room for close monitoring and direction.
It said that engineers in charge of 400 kV and 765 kV sub-stations would attend sub-stations for ensuring their safe and smooth operation particularly with respect to high voltage monitoring on Sunday evening.
Following the appeal by the prime minister to the people to switch off lights for nine minutes at 9 pm on Sunday, UP Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) on Friday ordered load shedding across the state to prevent the power grid from collapsing due to sudden demand drop. As per UPPCL estimates, the demand for power was likely to slump by as much as 3,000 megawatt following the switching off of lights for nine minutes on Sunday.