Energy use dropped 500 kilowatts during Earth Hour on Saturday night.

Organisers say the conservation awareness raised by the initiative is more important than the relatively slight amount of energy that was saved between 8.30 and 9.30 p.m.

They say it's impossible to be sure exactly how many people were consciously taking part in Earth Hour, but the likelihood is that more people participated than last year, when the load actually increased during the hour.

Bermuda has consistently seen greater energy conservation over the past year due mainly to the high price of fuel.

Susan McGrath-Smith of Belco said in a statement yesterday: "We did not expect to see a dramatic drop on a Saturday night, when businesses are closed anyway, and at an hour when many families are starting to put children to bed, etc.

"If we could do this kind of thing during a typical business day and get everyone to turn off power, that would show more dramatic numbers — but it probably would not have any greater impact in terms of awareness and education.

"Earth Hour is truly about education and creating awareness of climate change."