Earth Hour event targets 700 MW worth of savings
The target is to save 700 megawatts for one day in the country.
For Earth Hour on Saturday, March 31, organizers aim to conserve this volume of electricity as they campaign for more households and companies to join them in the annual mass switch off of lights for one hour starting 8:30 p.m.
“The objective is to trend more,” said Regional Director Antonio Labios of the Department of Energy in Central Visayas (DOE-7) in a press conference.
For Cebu, last year’s power savings of 29 MW during Earth Hour is the record to beat.
With more public support, this can be achieved, said de Dios.
In the past three years, Cebu’s Earth Hour was carried out by companies and individuals acting on their own.
This year cities of Manila, Cebu and Davao City are the main “switch-off” areas in the country set by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Philippines, which mounts the annual activity.
The Cebu city government is a major companies are partners this year.
A parade will be held from Fuente Osmeña Circle to Plaza Independencia on March 31, a Saturday.
The Cebu city barangay that involves the most number of households in Earth Hour will also be officially recognized, said Councilor Alvin Dizon.
Power consumption dropped to 248.89 MW during Earth Hour in 2011, according to a report of the Visayan Electric Company of its franchise area.
The Cebu City Council’s environment committee recorded 24-MW worth of power savings in 2009.
In 2009, the entire Visayas grid showed a decline of 40 MW for the hour-long switch off. This increased to 52 megawatts in 2010, according to the DOE -7.
“I think it’s more than just business … It is in our best interest that we support these activities, to understand our environment. There’s more to this than just making money,” said Jimmy Aboitiz, executive vice president and COO of Aboitiz Power.
“Conservation is a big deal for us.”
Aboitiz said three 20-watt light bulbs were switched off per Veco customer in last year’s Earth Hour.
The top record for power savings in the country was more than 600 MW in 2009.
“We want to emphasize that Earth Hour isn’t only done in Manila,” WWF communications officer Marilyn Santiago said.
WWF recorded 5,251 towns and cities all over the world that participated in the Earth Hour. Organizers hope to make Earth Hour a year-long campaign.
