Centre Wellington Hydro is thanking Fergus and Elora residents for making Blackout Day a success.
On Aug. 14, municipalities across the province engaged in a friendly competition to reduce electricity consumption. Fergus placed in the top ten in the province, with a power reduction of 3.2 per cent. The Blackout Day barbecue held at Templin Gardens in Fergus raised over $400 for the local food bank.
Blackout Day is a province-wide event that commemorates the major power outage of 2003 that affected large regions of Ontario and the Northeastern United States. While poor maintenance and an aging grid were to blame for the cascade of system failures, the power outage underscored the importance of energy conservation.
In the days following that Aug. 14 outage, governments made repeated appeals to citizens to conserve energy as grid operators struggled to return power throughout the province. Ontarians answered this call by reducing demand by as much as 20 per cent of normal levels.
For many, the 2003 power outage was not a pleasant experience; it resulted in inconvenience, billions of dollars in damage, and even some fatalities. While conservation efforts on Blackout Day are to be applauded, they are only a symbolic step in the right direction. The real value of the event is the awareness about conservation it generates, according to Centre Wellington Hydro General Manager Doug Sherwood. The reality is that there are simple, practical steps that everyone can take to save energy, not only on Blackout Day but also every day of the year. Conservation does not have to entail sweeping lifestyle changes. Even seemingly insignificant steps can collectively have real environmental and economic benefits. Centre Wellington Hydro has Fergus and Elora as its jurisdiction. The rural areas are covered by Ontario Hydro.
