Earth Hour sees B.C. power consumption drop 1.1%
Last Updated: Sunday, March 29, 2009 | 2:14 PM PT
CBC News
Science World, seen here before and during Earth Hour, was one of many Vancouver landmarks that went dark. (CBC)Power consumption across the province dipped 1.1 per cent Saturday night as British Columbians dimmed the equivalent of 1.5 million lights to mark Earth Hour, BC Hyro said.
That's lower than the two per cent saved in 2008, said spokesperson Simi Heer, but still a good result.
"Because Earth Hour is largely a symbolic event, it's raised quite a bit of awareness not only of energy conservation, but resource conservation," she said.
"So [if] any kind of awareness of conservation goes up, we're quite happy with that because it's going to play a key role in meeting our province's future energy needs."
The highest drop in electricity consumption in the province, 4.6 per cent, was recorded in Pemberton.
Colwood, Parksville and Langford, all on Vancouver Island, tied for second place at 4.1 per cent.
New Westminster saved the least amount of power, registering a drop of 0.1 per cent, followed by Richmond at 0.3 per cent.
"If British Columbians implemented the same conservation measures that they did last night for one hour every evening, we would save enough power to power 2,400 homes for an entire year," Heer said.
Organized by the World Wildlife Fund and sponsored locally in part by BC Hydro, Earth Hour is an annual global effort to address climate change.
