The race is on to see which Ontario Community can conserve the most electricity on August 14th.
That is the anniversary of the great black out of 2003.
Some of the communities involved in this year’s competition besides Owen Sound include South Bruce and Meaford.
Owen Sound Environmental Superintendent Chris Hughes says its a two part challenge, to see which community can get the highest percentage drop in electricity consumption and the highest per capita participation rate between now and August 14th.
Hughes says in last years challenge Owen Sound did not do very well, but he is hoping consumers will sign up and then do their part to reduce their power demand, not just for one day, bur for the entire year.
He says the city will be doing its part by installing energy efficient lighting in most of its buildings, and also introduce several measures to reduce the energy consumption at the Bayshore Community centre.
Hughes says one way is to capture heat from the refrigeration units and use that energy to heat water to heat the boilers for the heating system and water for the change room showers.
In addition he says the city is looking at the possibility of using solar panels and perhaps a small wind turbine to generate extra electricity for the Bayshore.
Hughes says during last years Count me in Challenge, Owen Sound did not do all that well, and he is hoping this year residents will rise to the challenge.