Why save electricity is a very fundamental question that is oftentimes neglected. The whole Internet world has been filled up with "How To's" on saving electricity and only a handful of them deals on the "Why's" of the issue. Perhaps the answer to the why's has already been attributed to common sense that only very few would like to ask this question. In this efficiency-conscious age, I understand that the title of this post exposes myself to being dubbed as someone lacking common sense.
However, I believe that in everything we do, the why is what gives us direction, purpose, or reason to pursue or accomplish things. Focus on how to's alone and one might end up in the wrong direction.
Here are my few cents on why we should save electricity:
1. To save money
The most obvious reason, and probably the strongest motivator, to save electricity is the desire to save money. The less electricity we use, the less money we spend.
2. To save the environment
When we save electricity, we also save the environment. At home, when we turnoff our TV, lights, and other electrical appliances, the effect on the environment may not be very obvious since everything is as clean as when they are ON. What we do not see is that power plants burn less fuels when there is less demand for electricity. Latest achievements on clean renewable energy sources are good news indeed, but it is never a reason to be lavish on our electricity usage. DOE Statistics shows 66% of our electricity is still provided by power plants running on fossil fuels.
3. To help the country's economy
The Philippines still imports majority of its energy sources. This is mainly evidenced by how our daily lives are affected by the fluctuations in world oil prices. The less electricity we use, the less fuel our country needs to import.
4. To help spread awareness
Your impact as a single individual in saving electricity will only save a single drop in all our oceans and a few cents in the billions of pesos that the country pays for imported fuels. However, you can multiply that impact by inspiring others to do their part. There is no better way of spreading energy efficiency awareness than starting it in your own home; making it visible to your neighbors, your visiting relatives and friends and hope that they, too, will understand energy efficiency through your paradigm.
The next time you switch off a light, think that you are not only saving a few small coins in your purse, you are also helping save something bigger.
