diff --git a/data/org.gnome.settings-daemon.plugins.power.gschema.xml.in b/data/org.gnome.settings-daemon.plugins.power.gschema.xml.in
index ec805d8a..cf0d6793 100644
--- a/data/org.gnome.settings-daemon.plugins.power.gschema.xml.in
+++ b/data/org.gnome.settings-daemon.plugins.power.gschema.xml.in
@@ -11,6 +11,11 @@
       <summary>Activation of this plugin</summary>
       <description>Whether this plugin would be activated by unity-settings-daemon or not</description>
     </key>
+    <key name="manage-dpms-defaults" type="b">
+      <default>false</default>
+      <summary>Reset X DPMS values</summary>
+      <description>Whether DPMS values will be adjusted by gnome-settings-daemon</description>
+    </key>
     <key name="idle-brightness" type="i">
       <default>30</default>
       <summary>The brightness of the screen when idle</summary>
diff --git a/plugins/power/gpm-common.c b/plugins/power/gpm-common.c
index a7ca87fb..a56a7cdc 100644
--- a/plugins/power/gpm-common.c
+++ b/plugins/power/gpm-common.c
@@ -280,6 +280,18 @@ disable_builtin_screensaver (gpointer unused)
         return TRUE;
 }
 
+gboolean
+manage_dpms (void)
+{
+        GSettings *settings;
+        gboolean manage_dpms_defaults;
+
+        settings = g_settings_new ("org.gnome.settings-daemon.plugins.power");
+        manage_dpms_defaults = g_settings_get_boolean (settings, "manage-dpms-defaults");
+        g_object_unref (settings);
+        return manage_dpms_defaults;
+}
+
 guint
 gsd_power_enable_screensaver_watchdog (void)
 {
@@ -290,7 +302,7 @@ gsd_power_enable_screensaver_watchdog (void)
          * way. The defaults are now applied in Fedora 20 from
          * being "0" by default to being "600" by default */
         gdk_x11_display_error_trap_push (gdk_display_get_default ());
-        if (DPMSQueryExtension(GDK_DISPLAY_XDISPLAY (gdk_display_get_default ()), &dummy, &dummy))
+        if (manage_dpms () && DPMSQueryExtension(GDK_DISPLAY_XDISPLAY (gdk_display_get_default ()), &dummy, &dummy))
                 DPMSSetTimeouts (GDK_DISPLAY_XDISPLAY (gdk_display_get_default ()), 0, 0, 0);
         gdk_x11_display_error_trap_pop_ignored (gdk_display_get_default ());
         id = g_timeout_add_seconds (XSCREENSAVER_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT,
diff --git a/plugins/power/gpm-common.h b/plugins/power/gpm-common.h
index 88a8e00e..af106479 100644
--- a/plugins/power/gpm-common.h
+++ b/plugins/power/gpm-common.h
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ gchar           *gpm_get_timestring                     (guint           time);
 gboolean         gsd_power_is_hardware_a_vm             (void);
 guint            gsd_power_enable_screensaver_watchdog  (void);
 void             reset_idletime                         (void);
+gboolean         manage_dpms                            (void);
 
 /* Backlight helpers */
 
diff --git a/plugins/power/gsd-power-manager.c b/plugins/power/gsd-power-manager.c
index c500fa38..445496ee 100644
--- a/plugins/power/gsd-power-manager.c
+++ b/plugins/power/gsd-power-manager.c
@@ -1033,6 +1033,9 @@ backlight_enable (GsdPowerManager *manager)
         gboolean ret;
         GError *error = NULL;
 
+        if (!(manage_dpms ()))
+                return;
+
         iio_proxy_claim_light (manager, TRUE);
         ret = gnome_rr_screen_set_dpms_mode (manager->rr_screen,
                                              GNOME_RR_DPMS_ON,
@@ -1052,6 +1055,9 @@ backlight_disable (GsdPowerManager *manager)
         gboolean ret;
         GError *error = NULL;
 
+        if (!(manage_dpms ()))
+                return;
+
         iio_proxy_claim_light (manager, FALSE);
         ret = gnome_rr_screen_set_dpms_mode (manager->rr_screen,
                                              GNOME_RR_DPMS_OFF,