Toronto’s electricity demand dropped 205 megawatts, or roughly seven per cent during Earth Hour, Toronto Hydro reported.
Residents from coast to coast shut off their lights, computers, TVs and other electronics Saturday night to take part in Earth Hour, an annual event designed to draw attention to climate change.
Toronto Hydro said that normal demand on Saturday at 8 p.m. for this month is 3035 megawatts. The agency reported that the drop in electricity demand is the equivalent of removing around 92,000 homes off of the city’s electricity grid.
During last year’s Earth Hour, Toronto Hydro recorded a drop of 193 megawatts, or a 6.8 per cent drop in demand.
In 2009, Toronto saw a record-high 15.1 per cent reduction in the city.
The annual self-imposed black-out launched in 2007 in Sydney, Australia, with 2.2 million residents turning off all non-essential lights. Participation soon grew, as the event spread to several countries each year. An estimated 152 countries participated in this year’s event.
Critics of Earth Hour say the event doesn’t lead to meaningful change, however the World Wildlife Fund says Earth Hour is meant to be a largely symbolic event.
While Earth Hour alone won’t reverse global warming, it can help create the “political space and demand for the large-scale change that will,” WWF said in a statement.
