Earth hour today; Bescom may save 100MW power

Come Saturday, it is time to turn off the lights and be part of the global Earth Hour campaign to save energy.

According to Bescom estimates, if lights are switched off across all its centres during Earth Hour, they will be saving around 100 MW of power.

Earth Hour is usually observed on the last Saturday of March. During this hour, from 8:30pm to 9:30pm, people switch off lights and use alternative and dispensable power to spread the message of climate change and to save energy for future generations.

While environmentalists opine that this is a gimmick, officials state that this will go a long way in saving energy.

Last year, the load on Bescom reduced by 42 MW when lights were off during Earth Hour.  A Bescom official said: “This time, since the campaign is strong, we aim to save 80-100 MW of power which will help in meeting the peak summer load. This figure will be met when domestic and commercial consumers and street lights are switched off. The normal consumption between 8:30pm to 9:30 pm is 4,300 MW which is used by all commercial, industrial and domestic users.”

Bescom, too, will be switching off electricity in its office for an hour.