Fewer participants in VECO areas for Earth Hour ‘14

CEBU, Philippines - As far as the franchise area of the Visayan Electric Company is concerned, there were fewer people and/or establishments that turned off power during the observance of Earth Hour this year.

VECO Corporate Communications Manager Theresa Sederiosa said they recorded a 1,955.60 kilowatt-hour drop in its load Saturday night, but the number is reportedly lower by 821.57 kwh compared to the 2,777 kilowatt-hour drop last year.

The drop was even bigger in 2012 with 11,015.87 kilowatt-hour.

Sederiosa the load drop could have been much lower last Saturday had the line of Cemex, one of VECO’s biggest customers, did not trip off during the observance of Earth Hour.

“Cemex has four megawatt supply unya ni trip-off sila around 8:30 in the evening,” she said.

VECO, the country’s second largest electric utility, serves the cities of Cebu, Mandaue, Talisay, Naga and four municipalities, including Liloan, Consolacion, Minglanilla and San Fernando.

Earth Hour is observed every third Saturday of March yearly during which the public is encouraged to switch their lights off for an hour from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. in support of a global campaign to combat climate change.

Initiated by the Washington-based environmental group World Wildlife Fund for Nature, Earth Hour is dubbed as the single, largest, symbolic mass participation event in the world.

The Philippines has consistently registered the most number of participating towns and cities earning the distinction as “Earth Hour Hero Country” since it first joined the event in 2009.

At present, there are more than 150 countries that observe Earth Hour actively every year.  (FREEMAN)