MANILA – The Department of Energy (DOE) has called on Filipinos to participate in Earth Hour to increase the country’s energy efficiency and help mitigate the adverse effects of climate change.
“Behaviour change may seem like a challenge, but there are relatively simple things we as residents, businesses and local governments can do to be energy efficient, increase resilience to climate change and pave the way to a more sustainable future,” Energy Minister Raphael Lotilla said in a statement on Friday.
Earth Hour, an annual event encouraging people to simultaneously turn off unnecessary lights for 60 minutes, takes place today, March 25, from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m
Lotilla noted that this symbolic lights-out event served as an “occasional reminder of how simple everyday practices can have a huge impact in reducing our energy use.”
The DOE reported that the country saved 65.32 megawatts (MW) in last year’s Earth Hour, with Luzon covering more than half of the total at 35.26 MW.
Mindanao saved 15.3 MW while the Visayas recorded 14.76 MW.
Last year’s numbers are lower than the electricity saved in 2021, which stood at 73.01 MW, DOE data show.
The highest energy savings were recorded before the pandemic in 2019 at 195.34 MW.
The DOE hopes the country could save more this year as more Filipinos attend the event.
“Together action could create a safer, more resilient and more sustainable future. By turning off our lights for an hour, we can significantly improve energy use, raise public awareness, change behaviors and help reduce the impact of global warming on this planet,” the agency said.
Earth Hour began in 2007 in Sydney, Australia, where more than 2.2 million people turned off their lights for an hour.
For its part, the DOE encouraged Filipinos to minimize their electricity consumption during peak hours: 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., and 6 p.m. to 7 p.m
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