Many municipalities across Albania turned off city lights, plunging entire blocks in darkness, following an order from Minister of Infrastructure and Energy Belinda Balluku. Balluku said the measure intended to save energy in a time of crisis.

Many experts have raised concerns that the lack of illumination in the urban areas as well as in the roads will increase the danger of criminality and accidents.

However, a survey from Syri TV revealed that in a time when city neighborhoods and national road axis are in darkness to save energy, the same thing is not happening with the government institutions that took the decision.

Officials in the buildings of prime ministry, municipality of Tirana, several ministries – including Belinda Balluku’s – do not appear to be too careful with power usage. The lights are on until midnight, not to mention the heating equipment.

As it wasn’t enough in these hard times, the prime ministry, the parliament, and the ministries do not bother to turn off even the decorative lights of high voltage that are off during the day and switch on automatically when the evening falls and shine until the morning.