How many light bulbs?

5.8 Million in 2008...How Many Light Bulbs Will Torontonians Turn Off During Earth Hour 2009?

When the clock strikes 8:30 p.m. for Earth Hour, and Toronto goes dark, how much electricity will we collectively remove from the City's grid? 

During last year's event, Torontonians rallied together to turn off their lights and all non-essential appliances to drop demand by whopping 8.7 per cent - removing 262 Megawatts. That's enough electricity to power 150,000 homes or the equivalent of taking 5.8 million 60 Watt bulbs off the grid! 

Although those results are impressive, we're confident Torontonians can do even better in 2009. 

This year the global phenomenon will take place on Saturday, March 28, from 8:30 - 9:30 p.m., and it's fast approaching. As a sponsor of WWF's Earth Hour 2009, Toronto Hydro is encouraging its business and residential customers to support this lights out initiative. Toronto Hydro will also power down its own facilities and once again measure the success of Torontonians as they power down and cut electricity use.

How your constituents can participate in Earth Hour: 

Sign up at www.earthhourcanada.org 

Turn off all lights and non-essential appliances on March 28, between 8:30 - 9:30 p.m. 

Practice electricity conservation every day to reduce electricity consumption by registering for Toronto Hydro conservation and demand management programs 

Toronto Hydro will have a booth at the Nathan Philips Square Earth Hour event. To partner with us at this event, contact Denise Attallah at dattallah@torontohydro.com. 

To learn about all of Toronto Hydro's planned Earth Hour activities, watch for the next edition of City Wise, March 26th.

Toronto Hydro offers many conservation programs for its residential and business customers. Sign up for peaksaver®, or recycle your old energy-guzzling fridge with The Great Refrigerator Roundup. Switch over to compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) instead of old incandescent lights or participate in our Business Incentive Program or Power Savings Blitz. 

For more information, please visit our Web site at www.torontohydro.com. 

Your Toronto Hydro Contacts

For enquiries about Toronto Hydro-Electric System, please contact: Gord Baird, Supervisor, Customer Management Services gbaird@torontohydro.com

For enquiries about Toronto Hydro Energy Services Inc., please contact: Juliet John-Baptiste, Marketing Co-ordinator jjohn-baptiste@torontohydro.com

For enquiries about Toronto Hydro Corporation, please contact: Joyce McLean, Director Strategic Issues jmclean@torontohydro.com

For more information on Project Rebuild, please contact: 

Dayana Bonifaz, dbonifaz@torontohydro.com, 416-542-3366.