SA saves 420MW during Earth Hour

2010-03-30 11:00

Johannesburg - South African power utility Eskom on Tuesday reported that South Africans contributed 420MW electricity savings to the Earth Hour initiative.

Earth Hour took place on Saturday, where consumers globally switched off their lights and appliances on a voluntary basis.

Steve Lennon, MD Corporate Services and Eskom climate change champion, said the
South African energy saving was slightly higher than the 400MW recorded during Earth Hour last year.

"The 420MW translates to about 4-million 100W bulbs or 6.7-million 60W bulbs switched off on Saturday. This shows a concerted effort by approximately one million households," said Lennon.

From an environmental angle, every person who participated in the Earth Hour initiative in South Africa can say that he or she contributed to the saving of 400 tons of carbon dioxide, 224 tons of coal and some 576 kilolitres of water due to the power stations not needing to generate the 400MW.

Lights on average consume about 10% of household electricity, whereas geysers use as much as 40% of the total electricity bill.

If geysers were also switched off on Saturday the saving would have been far greater, showing that South Africans can really make a difference with very little effort.

"The Power Alert broadcast on TV every week day shows South Africans the status of the electricity system.  This to some extent serves as our own earth hour 'energy conscience'," said Lennon.

"We believe that the Earth Hour initiative has created incredible excitement around the need for efficient use of energy. As South Africa's primary supplier of electricity, our hope is that all South Africans harness this excitement and use energy wisely every day of the year," he added.

- I-Net Bridge (News24)