When I was growing up, the Orthodox Jewish world of East New York all turned lights on and off on yom tov, as needed. The sevara was that electricity is exactly like turning on a stove that has a continuous pilot light ( not as most stoves are today with an electric ignition ona gas stove). The electricity was maavir from the wire to the light fixture (proof being that if you cut open the wire while it was plugged in, even if the lamp was off, you would get an electric shock), but it was not m’avreir, which is the same type of action as striking a match, which ias also assur on Yom tov.
When we moved out of the neighborhood, our Rov in our new community said it was not permissible to do this, though if necessary a light could be turned on, but not off again. In my home we simply used Shabbos clocks for all the lights both on Shabbos and on Yom Tov. Obviously a clock could not be used for anything that was “vochedig,” (like a radio) as that would not be in the spirit of Shabbos or Yom Tov.