Earth Hour: B.C. saves equivalent of turning off 680,000 LED lights
VANCOUVER — British Columbians saved 15 megawatt hours of electricity and reduced the provincial electricity load by 0.2 per cent during Earth Hour last night — the equivalent of turning off about 680,000 LED light bulbs.
Earth Hour is an annual global event hosted by the WWF. People around the world are encouraged to turn off unnecessary lights and electronics for one hour. It started as a one-city initiative in Sydney, Australia in 2007.
BC Hydro provides tools, resources and incentives to help people conserve year-round. For more tips on how to be smart with your power, visit bchydro.com/powersmart. Since 2008, BC Hydro’s Power Smart programs have saved close to 4,776 gigawatt hours per year of electricity — enough to power 440,000 homes annually.
BC Hydro customers can view their individual energy use for Saturday evening by logging onto MyHydro — their online account at bchydro.com/myhydro. They can get an hourly breakdown of their electricity use.
Earth Hour savings by year:
- 2015: 15 megawatt hours or 0.2 per cent reduction in overall provincial load
- 2014: 65 megawatt hours or 1 per cent reduction in overall provincial load
- 2013: 136 megawatt hours or 1.95 per cent reduction in overall provincial load
- 2012: 121 megawatt hours or 1.67 per cent reduction in overall provincial load
- 2011: 117 megawatt hours or 1.8 per cent reduction in overall provincial load
- 2010: 64.6 megawatt hours or 1.04 per cent reduction in overall provincial load
- 2009: 72.67 megawatt hours or 1.1 per cent reduction in overall provincial load
- 2008: 125 megawatt hours or 2 per cent reduction in overall provincial load
Reduction in electricity load by community during Earth Hour:
- Whistler 7.2%
- Invermere 6.7%
- Clearwater 4.0%
- Houston 3.9%
- Logan Lake 3.2%
- Richmond 2.9%
- Sooke 2.3%
- Port Edward 2.3%
- Prince Rupert 2.3%
- Sidney 2.1%
- Hope 2.0%
- North Saanich 2.0%
- Esquimalt 1.9%
- Highlands 1.9%
- Duncan 1.7%
- View Royal 1.7%
- Central Saanich 1.7%
- Saanich 1.6%
- Port Alberni 1.6%
- Metchosin 1.6%
- North Cowichan 1.6%
- Colwood 1.5%
- Langford 1.5%
- Kitimat 1.5%
- Victoria 1.5%
- Coldstream 1.4%
- Oak Bay 1.4%
- Ladysmith 1.3%
- Kamloops 1.2%
- Enderby 1.2%
- Spallumcheen 1.2%
- New Westminster 1.2%
- Sicamous 1.0%
- West Vancouver 1.0%
- Port Moody 1.0%
- Coquitlam 0.9%
- Langley District 0.9%
- Delta 0.8%
- North Vancouver District 0.8%
- North Vancouver City 0.8%
- Bowen Island 0.8%
- Port Coquitlam 0.7%
- Vancouver 0.7%
- Burnaby 0.7%
- 100 Mile House 0.7%
- Surrey 0.6%
- Abbotsford 0.6%
- Anmore 0.5%
- Belcarra 0.5%
- Mission 0.5%
- Powell River 0.5%
- Peachland 0.5%
- Summerland 0.5%
- West Kelowna 0.5%
- White Rock 0.5%
- Sechelt 0.5%
- Chilliwack 0.5%
- Pitt Meadows 0.4%
- Quesnel 0.3%
- Wells 0.3%
- Maple Ridge 0.3%
- Squamish 0.3%
- Comox 0.1%
- Courtenay 0.1%
- Fort Nelson 0.1%
Contact:
BC Hydro Media Relations
Phone: 604 928 6468