Make it a habit: Power off one hour each day

TURN off lights at home for one hour a day to conserve energy.

Cebu City Councilor Nida Cabrera urged residents to make this a habit in the wake of reports that the Visayas grid was placed under yellow alert by the Department of Energy (DOE) due to thin power reserves that make the area vulnerable to brownouts.

In a  privilege speech in yesterday’s  Council session,  Cabrera also backed a proposal by civil society groups for power utilities to provide real time updates on Cebu’s  power supply so the public can monitor and be motivated to  conserve power.

She cited the  Earth Hour celebration which  resulted in a reduction of 1.86 megawatts within the Metro Cebu franchise area of the Visayan Electric Co. (Veco) and about 6.68 megawatts in Cebu province.

“But I agree that one hour of switching-off electricity is a very small component of the total consumption. Conserving power should be a daily habit,” Cabrera said

The DOE is advocating   reducing consumer demnd through practices such as  unplugging appliances and buying energy efficient appliances.

Monitoring

Real-time updates on power supply  would be powerful feedback to   encourage the public  to turn off non-essential appliances, said Cabrera.

She suggested that Veco provide this data  as basis for public monitoring.

“Reducing consumption will reduce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions by fossils-fueled power plants,” Cabrera said.

She said  President Aquno  and Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla should take the lead in requiring power utilities to provide this information.

Cabrera also asked Cebu City Mayor Mike Rama to require departments and offices in Cebu City Hall to switch off non essential lights and appliances for one hour daily.