Saturday’s Earth Hour initiative, overseen in this province by B.C. Hydro as a way to reduce electricity use, saw its lowest residential and commercial takeup since the program began.
B.C.’s reduction of 15 megawatt hours of power between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. was by far the lowest since 2008, the first year B.C. Hydro joined the international event begun by the World Wildlife Fund. The previous low was 64.6 megawatt hours in 2010, followed by 65 last year.
The high to date is 136 megawatt hours in 2013.
The lights and other electrical functions shut down for an hour this year did reduce the provincial electrical load by .2 per cent, the equivalent of turning off 680,000 LED light bulbs for an hour.
Among B.C. cities and towns, Whistler led the way, reducing its power usage by 7.2 per cent during Earth Hour. Greater Victoria municipalities were led by Sidney (2.1 per cent), North Saanich (two per cent) and Esquimalt (1.9 per cent). Saanich achieved a 1.6 per cent reduction in energy use during Earth Hour.
Earth Day takes place on April 22 across the globe.
To find ways of conserving energy in your home or business, visit bchydro.com/powersmart.
editor@saanichnews.com