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Earth Hour cutbacks are growing

But Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows way down the list on energy-saving night
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The Maple Ridge Business Centre at 9:07 p.m. during Earth Hour on Saturday.

Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows were both slightly ahead of the curve in energy cutbacks during Earth Hour.

Many British Columbians powered down on Saturday from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m., and reduced the provincial electricity load by 1.95 per cent.

According to a B.C. Hydro, the savings were equivalent to turning off more than 10 million 12.5-watt LED light bulbs.

Island communities were the most earth friendly, with Comox and Courtenay leading the way with reductions of almost 10 per cent.

All of the top 10 conserving municipalities were based on Vancouver Island.

Of the 68 communities with reductions, Pitt Meadows ranked 37th, and Maple Ridge 39th.

Pitt Meadows saw a drop of 2.7 per cent, and Maple Ridge 2.5 per cent.

“We’re actually better than the provincial average, so that’s encouraging,” said Pitt Meadows sustainability coordinator Anika Steblin. “The city is maintaining the momentum from last year.”

Earth Hour is promoted each year by the World Wildlife Fund, and for the past six years BC Hydro has been involved. The utility charts savings by municipality.

In total, British Columbians saved 136 megawatt hours of electricity, up from 121 megawatt hours in 2012.

They were in good company, as the Empire State Building, The Eiffel Tower and The Kremlin were among the iconic buildings in the dark during this year’s Earth Hour. The environmental effort is observed in 7,000 cities and 150 countries.

With the installation of smart meters and Hydro’s new Smart Grid, customers can see their own energy use at www.bchydro.com/myhydro.

The World Wildlife Fund chose Vancouver as the first-ever Global Earth Hour capital, picked ahead of 66 other cities around the world. The city was recognized for its unique environmental efforts, and chosen unanimously by a panel of experts. Vancouver’s electricity load dropped by 2.4 per cent.

 

Energy savings

Energy Savings during Earth Hour in B.C.

• 2008: 125 megawatt hours.

• 2009: 73 MWh.

• 2010: 65 MWh.

• 2011: 117 MWh.

• 2012: 121 MWh.

• 2013: 136 MWh.



Neil Corbett

About the Author: Neil Corbett

I have been a journalist for more than 30 years, the past decade with the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows News.
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