South Africa’s contribution towards Earth Hour

SOUTH Africans made a weighty contribution to Earth Hour by saving an average of 420 megawatts when they switched off their lights on Saturday between 8.30pm and 9.30pm.

Eskom said the amount of power saved by South Africans was enough to power a city the size of Polokwane or Port Elizabeth for an hour.

It said it measured the reduction in electricity used during the hour against typical consumption between 8.30pm and 9.30pm on an average Saturday.

“Eskom would like to encourage people to take action on climate change beyond this one hour and to make environmental conservation part of their daily lifestyles,” the statement read.

World

Eskom said there were currently more than 162 countries and territories in the world taking part in the initiative “which engages a massive mainstream community on a broad range of environmental issues”.

Earth Hour, which started in Sydney, Australia, in 2007, was organised by the World Wide Fund as a lights-off event to raise awareness about climate change, Eskom said. – Daily News Reporter