Squamish residents reduced their energy consumption by 1.49 per cent during Earth Hour on Saturday (March 26), finishing second in the Sea to Sky Corridor's Earth Hour Challenge.
Whistler easily won the challenge among corridor communities by reducing its energy consumption by 4.35 per cent from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. Whistler, in fact, tied for third with Kitimat in British Columbia as only Pitt Meadows (5.7 per cent) and Tumbler Ridge (4.95 per cent) in results released by B.C. Hydro.
Squamish's reduction was smaller than last year's (2.5 per cent), but Pemberton fared even worse its consumption increased by 1.95 per cent, a B.C. Hydro spokesperson told the Whistler Question. In 2010, Pemberton topped corridor communities by reducing its energy usage by 3.4 per cent.
This year, Squamish tied with New Westminster for 37th among participating B.C. communities.
Overall, B.C. residents nearly doubled their energy savings as compared to Earth Hour 2010, B.C. Hydro officials said. Province-wide in 2010, British Columbians saved 64 megawatts, but in 2011 they nearly doubled that to 117 megawatts. That's an overall 1.8 per cent decrease in energy usage.
