SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Power consumption in Yellowknife did not decrease during Earth Hour, which was scheduled for Saturday evening between 8:30 and 9:30, according to Northland Utilities manager Duane Morgan.

Power consumption did not decrease during Earth Hour Saturday evening throughout the NWT according to NWT Power Corporation. - Ian Vaydik/NNSL photo illustration

"We had a look at it to see whether or not there was going to be any impact in the system. There was no noticeable change basically in the usage trends in the patterns of people in Yellowknife. It looked exactly the same as it had all the way along," said Morgan.

He said from what he remembered, there wasn't much of a change in usage last year for Earth Hour either.

Robert Schmidt, director for the Hydro region of the NWT Power Corporation, said there was no change detected in the Inuvik generation system, the Yellowknife system which covers Behchoko, Yellowknife and Dettah or the Fort Smith system which covers Hay River.

"I'm sorry to say there was no reduction in load between 8 and 9 in all the regions monitored," said Schmidt.

Morgan said although the lights were on, on the bright side, the event raises awareness.

"Although it is not reaping any benefits right now, it's like everything else. It's starting out with awareness," he said.

Earth Hour, organized by the World Wildlife Fund, is an international campaign to encourage individuals and organizations to reduce electricity use for one hour to raise awareness about climate change and the need for energy conservation.

Yellowknife Mayor Gordon van Tigem said daylight savings time earlier this month could have created a deterrence for some to turn off the lights.

"The challenge here is, since we moved our daylight savings time, when we have Earth Hour now, we have light," said van Tigem.

"Just the fact that its being discussed is important."

Doug Ritchie program manager for Ecology North, said the organization had been putting a lot of effort behind Water Week and didn't promote Earth Hour much in the community which he said might have been a factor.

"I'm a little bit disappointed ...But, what was really, really clear was that it's not just about power usage. What was more important is about discussing power usage and how can we make a real difference. Those symbolic acts are important first steps and what's more important is what we do for the remaining parts of the year," he said.

Ritchie said people have to move beyond simple awareness-raising activities and move toward more effective policies and technologies.

"We really need to keep eternal vigilance in terms of finding ways to reduce our footprint ... Conversations are the most important things and I hope at least those conversations did take place," he said.

In 20008, during the second annual Earth Hour, Yellowknife conserved 2.4 megawatts of energy, or 10 per cent drop at that time period for that time of year, according to the NWT Power Corporation.

Last week, WWF Canada released a list of the top 10 leading cities on climate change in Canada, where Yellowknife sat at number 10.

The seemingly decreased interest in energy conservation was not only felt here. Calgary's energy consumption stayed constant while Edmonton saw an increase in power usage from that time last week, according to southern media.

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