March 29, 2010
(Red Deer, Alberta) – Electricity consumption in Red Deer was down 4.6 per cent thanks to Red Deer citizens and businesses who heard the Earth Hour call, powered down and turned off their lights from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Red Deer citizens helped save 16,310 kWh of electricity, almost double what was saved in 2009. This is enough energy to run the entire traffic light system for 10 days or power 30 houses for an entire month. The City of Red Deer participated by shutting down all non-essential lights at City facilities, including City Hall and the Collicutt Centre, and encouraged staff, businesses, stakeholders and the public to participate as well.
“It is difficult to know the number of customers who turned off their lights during Earth Hour, but we estimate there were thousands of customers who flipped their switches in support of action on climate change,” said Ligong Gan, Electric Light & Power Manager.
Earth Hour, organized by the World Wildlife Fund, started in 2007 in Sydney where 2.2 million electricity consumers switched off their lights for one hour to raise awareness about climate change. In 2008 the message grew into a global movement, with 50 million people switching off their lights.
“Earth Hour is about getting people to see how their individual actions add up to make a big difference for the environment,” said Pam Vust, Environmental Initiatives Coordinator. “Reducing electricity consumption throughout the year is an easy way for citizens to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.”
For more information on Earth Hour, climate change or other City of Red Deer environmental initiatives, please go to www.reddeer.ca/environment.
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For more information, please contact:
Pam Vust Ligong Gan
Environmental Initiatives Coordinator Manager, Electric Light and Power
The City of Red Deer The City of Red Deer
403-342-8750 403-342-8341
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