Advertisement

Electricity use drops 9 per cent in Saskatchewan for Earth Hour

SaskPower customers appear to have been far more open to turning off their lights for Earth Hour than years prior. WWF

REGINA – Saskatchewanians appear to have been far more open to turning off their lights for Earth Hour than years prior. Electricity use decreased by about 9 per cent Saturday night, compared to average usage on other Saturday nights this month.

“This is an excellent and simple demonstration of how making a few small changes to how you use electricity at home can deliver big results,” said Janson Anderson, director of customer programs for SaskPower, in a press release dated Sunday.

Between 8:30-9:30 p.m., the average residential electricity demand stood at 1,090 megawatts (MW) in the province. The average for that hour on Saturdays in March is 1,200 MW.

According to a 2013 SaskPower report [PDF], about 1,000 homes can be powered by one MW.
Story continues below advertisement

The purpose of the event, its advocates say, is to fight and draw attention to climate change.

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

Get daily National news

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

According to Earth Hour’s official website, the first iteration of the movement was in Australia in 2007. It has since become a global event.

Last year, as well as in 2013, there was no change in power use in Saskatchewan during Earth Hour.

Sponsored content

AdChoices