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Last updated at 8:40 AM on 01/04/08
Province not switched on to Earth Hour
environment Utility says no noticeable change in power consumption
DAVE BARTLETT
The Telegram
Newfoundland Power says it didn't notice any change in power consumption between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. Saturday night. That's when people were asked to turn off their lights to promote Earth Hour, a global movement to make people aware of energy conservation.
The utility compared the demand on its system to the last three Saturdays during the same time period and saw no difference.
Earth Hour started in Sydney, Australia last year, where millions of people turned off their lights and even held parties by candlelight.
Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro says it saw a change, but can't say how much may have been related to people taking part in Earth Hour.
However, the company has done some interesting math on the potential impact the annual event could have in years to come.
If everyone on the island turned off all their lights for one hour, Hydro estimates it would burn 150 fewer barrels of oil at the Holyrood Generating Station.
The City of St. John's tried to promote the event at last week's council meeting and promised to turn off the lights in city buildings except where safety was a concern. Coun. Shannie Duff introduced the resolution and asked people in the city to participate.
In Corner Brook, Edwin Bezzina promoted the event. He chairs the Church in the World Committee, of the First United Church in that city.
Bezzina told parishioners of the church about the event during services in the two weeks leading up to Saturday. He also advertised and promoted the event on local radio and in The Western Star.
He even encouraged the business community in Corner Brook to take part to varying degrees of success.
Some shops turned off their outdoor signs for the hour if they couldn't turn off the lights inside.
Other businesses referred Bezzina to their head offices on the mainland.
Bezzina says the three shopping malls in the city were also supportive of the idea as was Sir Wilfred Grenfell college which helped pay for advertising to promote the event.
Some students turned off their residence room lights, but he says there were some safety concerns because of social events. He says he didn't want people who may have had too much to drink to hurt themselves.
He says the overall participation rate was hard to gauge, but he did take a walk around his neighbourhood during that time Saturday night.
"I didn't peer into peoples windows," he says. "But I did see a good number of houses where they had obviously dimmed or turned out most of the lights and lit a few candles."
Bezzina says it was a good first attempt.
Many cities officially took part in Earth Hour.
Reports say the City of Toronto exceeded its goal of reducing power consumption by five per cent. Many buildings in the downtown core- including the CN Tower and Air Canada Centre - cut the juice to the outside lights.
The overall reduction in power consumption was reduced between eight and nine per cent for Earth Hour.
dbartlett@thetelegram.com
