We consider generation of an electrical pulse by an optical pulse in the ``virtual excitation'' regime. The electronic system, which is any electro-optic material including a quantum well structure biased by a dc electric field, is assumed to be coupled to an external circuit. It is found that the photon frequency is subject to an extra red shift in addition to the usual self-phase modulation, whereas the photon number is conserved. The Joule energy consumed in the external circuit is supplied only from the extra red shift.
