

Codi Wilson, CP24.com





Toronto Hydro says the city came up short on its power reduction goal during Earth Hour Saturday night.

According to the utility company, Toronto saw a 3.5 per cent power drop between 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., a figure that was 6.5 per cent lower than the company's goal. During Earth Hour last year, the city reduced its power consumption by 6 per cent.

“We did set the goal pretty high this year,” Toronto Hydro spokesperson Christina Basil told CP24 Saturday night.

"The good news is one of the reasons why we might have seen a lower drop this year is that we have been spreading the conservation message all year round and perhaps customers have already taken that into account and are already practicing conservation in their daily lives."

Basil said that Earth Hour is really a symbolic movement.

"Perhaps the awareness is already out there,” she said.

"Collectively we want to thank all of the Torontonians who participated this year."

Several of the city’s key landmarks took part in the hour-long event, including the CN Tower, the Air Canada Centre, the Rogers Centre, Roy Thomson Hall, and the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

There were also a number of community events that took place across Toronto.

A candlelight walk was held in Roncesvalles Village and some spent the hour under the stars at the annual Earth Hour event at Kew Gardens in the Beaches.

Powerstream Inc. reported a 6 per cent drop in electricity usage territory-wide during Earth Hour this year, an improvement of 1.2 per cent from last year.