Odisha has clocked a significant power saving of 460 Mw during the 'Earth Hour' (8:30-9:30 pm) observed on Saturday at a time when the soaring mercury is escalating demand for power in the state.
The Earth Hour 2014 was successfully organized by the team of 'Earth Hour- Odisha Campaign' consisting of TiE Bhubaneswar Cleantech SIG, Canyon Consultancy, Climate Parliament (Odisha chapter) and other stakeholders of energy sector of Odisha. The campaign carried the slogan of 'Switch OFF non-essential light loads during Earth Hour (8:30 pm to 9:30 pm) and Switch ON to renewable energy as well as to adopt energy efficiency.
The Bhubaneswar Municipality Corporation (BMC) joined the Earth Hour -Odisha Campaign by organizing an awareness rally from AG Square to Raj Bhavan Chowk, switching off the streetlights and switching on solar lights arranged by Crux Power, a Bhubaneswar-based solar energy company.
Internationally acclaimed sand artist Sudarsan Patnaik who has been the brand ambassador of Odisha Campaign of Earth Hour since 2013, sculpted a seven feet sand art in Puri for creating awareness among the general masses.
Major government buildings like Governor House and the state secretariat also observed the Earth Hour.
Other leading institutions which observed Earth Hour were power regulator Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC), bulk power purchaser Gridco, Odisha Power Transmission Corporation Ltd (OPTCL), Odisha Hydro Power Corporation Ltd (OHPC) and Green Energy Development Corporation of Odisha Ltd (GEDCOL).
Earth Hour is a global event organized by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF for Nature) and is generally held in the last Saturday of March annually, urging households and businesses to turn-off their non-essential lights and other technical appliances to raise awareness on climate change.
