Entegrus reports a 3.2% drop in energy demand from its customers in Chatham-Kent as a result of Earth Hour on Saturday, as the event was observed by cities across the world, even reaching the International Space Station.
"That (3.2%) is approximately 150 residential homes being taken off the grid for a 24-hour period," says Margaret Rodd, director of conservation and communications with Entegrus.
Rodd sees the initiative as a way to raise the awareness of conservation.
"I think Earth Hour is a good way to bring acknowledgement to what we can do when we band together. It really shows that a little bit goes a long way," says Rodd. "Province-wide I think we can make a really big impact on our environment, on our footprint, when we pay attention to what we're consuming."
The idea behind Earth Hour is to encourage people to go without using electricity for an hour as a way of fighting harmful environmental impacts.