Lights out for landmarks observing Earth Hour

Triwik Kurniasari, THE JAKARTA POST, JAKARTA | Fri, 03/20/2009 1:10 PM

Areas in the heart of the capital will be in darkness following the city administration's commitment to turn off its lights for an hour to raise awareness about climate change.

The Earth Hour 2009 campaign, endorsed by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), will take place on March 28, from 8:30 p.m to 9:30p.m.

This will be the first time the city participates in Earth Hour.

Rizal Malik, a member of WWF-Indonesia's Board of Trustees, said Thursday that some government offices and private companies in Jakarta's main business districts had declared their commitment to Earth Hour.

The administration also plans to switch off the lights at some of the city's iconic spots in Central Jakarta, such as the National Monument, Hotel Indonesia traffic circle, City Hall, Pemuda Statue and Arjuna Wiwaha Statue.

"The event is aimed at raising people's awareness to save energy towards sustainable development," said Rizal.

"This is just the first step. We encourage people to turn off unused lights every day of the year," he said.

Jakarta will be the first city in the country to embrace Earth Hour.

Rizal said the campaign would kick off in Jakarta because the city has the highest electricity consumption in Indonesia.

"Some 20 percent of Indonesia's electricity consumers are in the capital. On the other hand, other places have to struggle to obtain adequate power supplies," he said.

"In the city, households have recorded the highest electricity consumption, at about 34 percent, while business sector is at 29 percent," he said, adding that so far there were about 12,000 people who had agreed to participate in Earth Hour 2009.

The WWF expects that the event can save 10 percent of the city's electricity consumption.

"Based on that assumption, the event will save 300 megawatts, which is enough to switch off one power plant. The event will also save a total of Rp 200 million (US$17,500) spent on electricity," Rizal said.

He urged the city to enforce laws on energy-saving to cut the city's electricity consumption.

"It will mean something. But Jakartans should support the administration's steps," Rizal said.

The Earth Hour initiative was started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia, when 2.2 million people switched off their lights for an hour.

In 2008, the number grew to some 50 million supporters from 370 cities in 35 countries.

As of Mar. 17, 1,539 cities from 80 countries have committed to participating in Earth Hour 2009, exceeding this year's target of 1,000 cities around the world.

Governor Fauzi Bowo said the administration would team up with city police to secure the planned blackout areas.