Earth Protect Blog

People in Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge failed to turn their lights out Saturday during the annual Earth Hour challenge to reduce electricity consumption.

Although both municipalities scored above the provincial average of 1.67 per cent drop, neither matched last year’s results.

Pitt Meadows saw a 2.4 per cent drop in electricity consumption between 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. compared to a 5.7 per cent reduction in 2011.

Maple Ridge, meanwhile, showed a 1.8 per cent drop in electricity consumption, lower than the 3.9 per cent reduction it logged last year.

B.C., as a whole, cut power use by 1.67 per cent, saving 121 megawatt hours of electricity – the equivalent of turning off nine million 12.5-watt LED light bulbs.

“If people applied the same simple conservation measures for even one hour every day for the whole year, the combined savings would power close to 4,000 homes for an entire year,” said B.C. Hydro’s acting CEO, Charles Reid.

“Next year, during Earth Hour, when smart meters are fully deployed, people will be able to track their own results from the day before through a secure on-line portal to help them realize how little measures really do add up to energy savings.”

The City of Pitt Meadows has participated in every Earth Hour year since it began five years ago.

This year, the city organized a parade that wound through nearby neighbourhoods, reminding people to turn their lights off.

City hall also participated by going dark for Earth Hour.

“We actually had people beeping their horns. It was good exposure,” said legislative services clerk Patti Rear, adding that 28 people showed up for the parade on a rainy Saturday evening.

Although Pitt Meadows did not top the province in reductions like it did last year, Rear was pleased that the city still did well when compared to other municipalities in Metro Vancouver.

In Metro Vancouver, Bowen Island did the best in this year’s Earth Hour challenge, with a 3.5 per cent reduction, followed by West Vancouver at 3.3 per cent.

The best results in B.C. came from Revelstoke, which cut power use 12.1 per cent., followed by Pemberton at 6.8 per cent.

The worst laggards in the region were North Vancouver City, at 0.4 per cent, and Langley City, at 0.5 per cent.