Earth Hour saved us 30 tonnes of CO2 emissions

IT was very heartening to see the support from Brigitte Schorn for Earth Hour (Irish Examiner, Tuesday 31 March), and I wish to thank Brigitte and all of the other people who took part in this event, which resulted in increased energy savings in Ireland and around the world.

These savings help the environment and also reduce power bills.

As the National Transmitter Operator, EirGrid manages the transmission of all electricity used in Ireland 24/7. Because of this, we are a strong supporter of the Earth Hour initiative.

We monitored all electricity use in Ireland on Saturday night and I am pleased to inform your readers that a reduction of approximately 70 megawatts, during the period 8.30pm–9.30pm last Saturday night.

This reduction was the equivalent of approximately 2% of demand and was higher than last year’s 50 megawatts.

This year’s savings meant that an estimated 30 tonnes of CO2 emissions were saved.

To put this into context, one megawatt is the equivalent of the usage of 10,000 old style light bulbs or 50,000 energy efficient CFL lights.

We hope to work with consumers for even large savings next year.

Cathy Curran

Senior Communications Specialist

Eirgrid

The Oval 160 Shelbourne Road

Ballsbridge

Dublin 4