Energy consumption remains high in Male’ during Earth Hour

Statistics show energy consumption remained high in the bustling Maldivian capital on Saturday, though people were encouraged to switch off their lights and non-essential appliances for one hour to show their commitment to environmental action.

The Earth Hour was marked in the Maldives from 09:45 pm to 10:45 pm on Saturday.

While the event encourages symbolic energy reduction and is not aimed at achieving measurable energy savings, there have been significant drops in energy consumption observed during the event in past years.

However, the statistics paint a different picture this year – possibly because the Earth Hour came during Ramadan – a period marked by high energy consumption.

According to a spokesperson from the State Electric Company (STELO), Male’ used 96 megawatts of energy during Earth Hour. The figure is in fact higher than the energy consumption during the same period the previous day.

Here’s a breakdown of energy consumption in Male’ between 09:45 pm and 10:45 pm last week:

• March 16: 98 megawatts
• March 17: 98 megawatts
• March 18: 98 megawatts
• March 19: 100 megawatts
• March 20: 100 megawatts
• March 21: 94 megawatts
• March 22: 96 megawatts

Statistics show that energy consumption has been rising above 100 megawatts during peak times this Ramadan. Energy consumption hit its peak at around 05:00 pm on March 20, with 106 megawatts.

Earth Hour is a worldwide movement organized by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to encourage people to give an hour for Earth.

Earth Hour encourages symbolic energy reduction. Its primary goal is to raise awareness and spark global conversations about environmental issues, not to achieve measurable energy savings.

Maldives has been observing Earth Hour since 2009.