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.