26 March, 2008

Counting down the Earth Hour savings

As Territory towns and cities join others around Australia to switch off the lights for Earth Hour at 8.00pm on 29 March, Power and Water Corporation will play a vital role monitoring and tallying the results.

From Darwin to Katherine, Katherine to Tennant Creek and down the track to the Solar City of Alice Springs, Power and Water’s System Control will collate the results and send them to Sydney for the big announcement on Sunday morning about how many tonnes of greenhouse gas were saved during the hour.

Trevor Horman, Manager Sustainable Energy, Power and Water, said

“In terms of greenhouse gas emissions we already produce less than elsewhere as Territory power stations are gas fuelled which are much cleaner than coal fired power stations.

“Power and Water has also made significant investments in a range of alternative energy sources and initiatives for customers to reduce their day to day electricity use.”

During Earth Hour, Power and Water staff are also being encouraged to switch off all non-essential lighting in their homes, or at our offices, depots, water plants and power stations.

Earth Hour, organised by the World Wildlife Fund, shows that small actions to reduce energy use makes a big difference to lowering greenhouse gas emissions (last year, Sydney achieved a 10% reduction during Earth Hour).

Everyone can reduce their power use all year round, not just for one hour; tips are available from www.powerwater.com.au and www.earthhour.org.

Contact:
Judie Brennan
Media Manager,
Corporate Communications
Power and Water Corporation
Phone: 08 8985 8481