The City of Cape Town has slammed any plans Eskom may have of asking municipalities to switch off their Christmas lights this year to conserve power.

The city's public lighting manager, Charles Kadalie, on Sunday said he had heard rumours that Eskom could request the city to switch off its Christmas lights.

"But we are not paying much attention to that."

He said the festive season did not have a significant impact on energy resources and calling on people to celebrate Christmas without lights was not the answer.

"The lights must come on as per usual; they (Eskom) must concentrate their efforts on asking consumers to conserve energy in other ways."

On Saturday it was reported that Eskom was considering asking municipalities to switch off their Christmas lights, but Eskom's regional communications manager Jolene Henn said on Sunday that there was no substance to the claim.

"Eskom cannot force them (the city) to switch their lights off as there are certain constraints. We can never take away from the spirit of the festive season.

All we are asking is that consumers enjoy the season but also assist us in our drive to save power," Henn said.

"In order to alleviate the load, we're asking customers for a mindshift.

"Electricity users need to come to the party by switching their geysers and all non-essential appliances off before going to bed."

Henn said consumers tended to be more relaxed about electricity usage during the festive season because demand was usually lower as most industries closed for the holidays.

In addition, she said Eskom was also advising customers to replace their regular light bulbs and use the energy saving bulbs on their lights, including Christmas decorations. "Use power sparingly," she urged.