Several government departments on Friday said they heeded Eskom's call to conserve energy.

This is to help reduce power demand by 10 percent, as requested by Eskom.

Eyewitness News travelled the streets of Pretoria at night to see which departments are leading by example.

While Eyewitness News found several buildings with lights blazing at night, their owners have to strike a balance between conserving energy and security demands.

Basic Education Department spokesperson Terrence Khala said a state of the art building management system was installed at the department's head office.

He said they have managed to reduce water and electricity consumption by as much as 20 percent.

Absa said it reduced energy consumption by more than 50 million kilowatts hours in 2011 since embarking on its energy saving campaign.

Eskom appealed to all businesses to help save energy to ensure a stable power grid.

(Edited by Zethu Zulu)