Sechelt was among the top communities in the province that lowered its electrical consumption in support of Earth Hour last Saturday night, March 31.
According to statistics released April 1 by BC Hydro, Sechelt ranked fourth in the province tied with Whistler at 5.6 per cent. Revelstoke topped the province at 12.1 per cent. BC Hydro did not provide totals for any other areas of the lower Sunshine Coast.
In total, according to BC Hydro, British Columbians saved 121 megawatt hours of electricity and reduced the provincial electricity load by 1.67 percent during Earth Hour -about the same as the 1.8 percent drop last year -and the equivalent of turning off about nine million 12.5-watt LED light bulbs.
"Everyone who took the opportunity to participate in Earth Hour deserves our thanks for helping to demonstrate the merits of energy conservation," said Rich Coleman, Minister of Energy and Mines in a news release. "We look forward to building on this year success as we work together to find ways to further conserve energy and keep electricity rates as low as possible for British Columbians."
Earth Hour is an annual global event hosted by the World Wildlife Fund and supported provincially by BC Hydro. This year marks the fifth year of BC Hydro's support of the event. The goal of the event is to encourage individuals to turn off unnecessary lights and electronics in an effort to conserve power and in doing so, demonstrate support for climate change reduction efforts.
Visit BCHydro's web site at www.bchydro.com for more on Earth Hour and to see the full provincial breakdown for Earth Hour.
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