ComEd Reports Reduction in Electricity Usage During Earth Hour

CHICAGO, March 27 /PRNewswire/ -- As Chicago residents, businesses and landmarks turned off the lights during the third annual Earth Hour, ComEd again registered a noticeable decline in electricity usage of about 1 percent in the City of Chicago and throughout its northern Illinois service territory.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100327/CG77740 )

To calculate the energy reduction achieved during the hour, ComEd compared its customers' electricity usage during the 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. hour last night to the preceding 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. hour.

The reduction in electricity usage in the City of Chicago and ComEd's northern Illinois service territory during Earth Hour was estimated to be about 100 megawatt hours. The energy reduction is the equivalent of removing 124,320 pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, or planting 15 acres of trees.

Organized globally by the World Wildlife Federation (WWF), Earth Hour was kicked off locally by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and ComEd Vice President of Environmental Services Val Jensen switching off the famous downtown marquee of the Chicago Theater.

In addition to Chicago, more than 30 municipalities participated in Earth Hour, including Algonquin, Bolingbrook, Carol Stream, Deerfield, DeKalb, Evanston, Hoffman Estates, Homer Glen, Lombard, Mount Prospect, Naperville, Oak Lawn, Oak Park, Olympia Fields, Orland Park, Rolling Meadows, Roselle, Schaumburg and South Elgin. Other participants across the state included:

-- Approximately 200 downtown Chicago buildings -- State Capitol Dome, the Governor's Mansion and all State of Illinois government buildings -- More than 70 colleges, universities, and secondary and primary schools -- More than 12 museums -- More than 10 park districts, including 250 Chicago Park District field houses and facilities

"Earth Hour is a symbolic demonstration that small efforts, when performed on a large scale, can have a positive long-term impact," said Anne Pramaggiore, ComEd president and chief operating officer. "For the third consecutive year, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley and ComEd customers have shown that energy conservation is an economical way to slow climate change and benefit our environment."

ComEd was the presenting sponsor of Earth Hour Illinois. Earth Hour is a global initiative of the World Wildlife Fund. ComEd encouraged its 3.8 million customers and employees to participate to raise awareness about global climate change and the benefits of energy efficiency.

This year represented the third year ComEd has served as the lead local sponsor of Earth Hour. It reflects Exelon 2020, an aggressive environmental strategy by ComEd's parent company, Exelon, to reduce, offset, or displace more than 15 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year by 2020.

Customers can learn how to reduce energy use and save money year-round by visiting http://www.comed.com/.

Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd) is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation , one of the nation's largest electric utilities with approximately 5.4 million customers. ComEd provides service to approximately 3.8 million customers across northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state's population.

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