Earth Hour

When 60 minutes is worth more than just an hour

An estimated 10 million Canadians participated in Earth Hour on Saturday, March 27th. Canada demonstrated its leadership with more than 300 cities, towns and municipalities taking part in this year’s global initiative.

Here in Ottawa, thousands of Ottawa residents’ and businesses took part, making this year’s event a success once again.

For a second year in a row, Hydro Ottawa measured a 6% reduction in electricity demand. That’s enough electricity to power 58 Ottawa homes for an entire month. This is an impressive figure since the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) reported that due to colder temperatures this year, the provincial average was 4% - and that most other utilities in the province noticed less of a drop this year as a result.

The IESO tracked the reduction in provincial demand resulting from Earth Hour activities on the evening of March 27 between 8:30 and 9:30. The result was a 4% drop in demand (560,000 kW!) compared to a typical Saturday in late March.

As a local leader in conservation initiatives, Hydro Ottawa is pleased to have partnered with the City once again in this year’s Earth Hour initiative. The individual efforts of thousands of Ottawa residents and businesses are responsible for the success of Ottawa’s third Earth Hour.

The power of Earth Hour lies not only in its message, but in its ability to unite the residents of Ottawa with one another and with people around the world who share a common mission to promote energy conservation and awareness.

Thanks to everyone who participated! Click here to see how you can continue the conservation trend.