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VANCOUVER – British Columbians are being asked to turn off and unplug all non-essential lights, fixtures and other electrical devices on Wednesday, May 16 as part of the first ever province-wide "Turn it Off" Day to promote energy conservation. In addition to the action of individuals, major landmarks throughout B.C. will be turning off their lights and restaurants around the Lower Mainland will hold candlelight dinners to help conserve electricity.

"Conserving electricity is one of the best ways we can take personal responsibility for reducing our impact on the environment." said Bev Van Ruyven, BC Hydro's Executive Vice-President for Customer Care and Conservation. "We want to create greater awareness among British Columbians of the many actions they can take at home and at work to reduce energy consumption and help meet B.C.'s future energy needs."

Demand for electricity in B.C. is expected to grow between 25 and 45 per cent over the next 20 years. And while B.C. produced surplus energy in the past, we now use more electricity than we generate. In fact, BC Hydro has been a net importer of electricity for each of the last six years.

British Columbia's Energy Plan has set a goal of achieving electricity self-sufficiency by 2016 and has targeted acquiring 50 per cent of the province's future energy needs through conservation. The average B.C. household uses about 10,750 kilowatt hours of electricity each year. That is projected to increase to about 11,450 kWh a year by 2020 under current trends. In order to meet the conservation target each home will not only have to curb the growth of electricity use but consume 10 per cent less electricity than they do today.

BC Hydro is the sponsor of "Turn it Off" Day through the 30 Days of Sustainability program (April 22 – May 21) which is an annual celebration of sustainable living in western Canada.

Contact:

Gillian Robinson Riddell

Media Relations

Phone: 604 623-4022

gillian.robinson@bchydro.com