Vietnam saves 401 MW during 2013 Earth Hour

Vietnam saved 401 MW of power, equivalent to USD28,800, by switching off lights during the 2013 Earth Hour, according to the EVN.

Vietnam saved 401 MW of power, equivalent to 576 million VND (28,800 USD), by switching off lights during the 2013 Earth Hour, from 8.30pm to 9.30pm on March 23, according to the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN).

Launched by the Ministry of Industry and Trade a month ago, the campaign aims to raise awareness about energy conservation and get individuals to make major changes to their lifestyles to battle climate change.

This year’s campaign You and I, Together We Act joined all 63 provinces and cities nationwide.

Among the localities, Hanoi recorded the highest amount of saved electricity with 220 MW, 24 MW higher than it did in 2012.

According to the organising board, many responsive activities took place, including a short film contest on Earth Hour, collecting people's fingerprints as a commitment to conserving energy and fighting climate change and puppet shows on climate change in primary schools.

First introduced in Vietnam in 2009, the event has seen a considerable increase in the number of participating organisations, businesses and individuals.

In 2009, only six provinces participated. In 2012, the number of responding localities increased to 48, which saved a combined 546,000 kWh of power.

Earth Hour - a global initiative started by the World Wide Fund for Nature was first introduced in 2007 in Sydney with the participation of more than 2.2 million people.