North Simcoe power use drops during Earth Hour

Simcoe.com
April 2, 2014
By Travis Mealing

Earth Hour on Saturday night saw PowerStream customers in Penetanguishene reduce their electricity consumption by 0.74 megawatts – 6.2 per cent below a typical March day.

“Earth Hour is a symbolic event for residents to show their support to help fight climate change and shed light on how we can all make a difference,” PowerStream board chair Maurizio Bevilacqua stated in a press release. “We are pleased with our customers’ response as participants in this global event.”

Consumers in Tay Township, meanwhile, cut their power use by 2.1 per cent during Earth Hour. The electricity saved was the equivalent of taking 300 homes completely off the grid for an hour.

“Tay Township is a community in which permanent reductions in electricity use are becoming part of how we work and live,” said Paul Ferguson, president of Newmarket-Tay Power Distribution. “Earth Hour is not about the electricity we save in one hour. It’s about the community collectively making a statement that we care about the environment, and we should continue to look for ways to use less electricity.”

The Midland Power Utility Corporation (MPUC) saw consumption drop to 20,982 kilowatt hours during Earth Hour, which represents a 12.1 per cent decrease compared to the average of the same period the previous three years.

However, energy services manager Blaine Osmond did not attribute the decrease solely to Earth Hour.

“There are other factors contributing to the reduction,” he said, pointing out the temperature on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. was 1C, eight or nine degrees warmer than the previous three years on the same date.

Osmond said the MPUC has also been successful in promoting conservation through numerous programs that equip customers with the tools and resources needed to lower their energy consumption on a year-round basis.

“Having one hour dedicated to energy reduction is certainly beneficial, and does promote energy conservation, but we realize many of our customers are conserving energy year round,” he said.