True or false: Daylight Saving Time was created to provide more sunlight during the hours we're awake.
If you answered "true," you're wrong, but you're not alone.
Results of a poll commissioned by BC Hydro and released Thursday suggest the majority of B.C. residents don't actually know why DST began.
About 60 per cent of those surveyed believe the above statement, but the concept was actually implemented more than a century ago as a way to conserve energy.
Less than 20 per cent knew the right answer.
The poll suggested 35 per cent of British Columbians believe the time shift has a negative effect, with many saying it impacts their sleep. A slim majority of participants (56 per cent) said they'd prefer if the province stopped the time change.
While DST started as an energy-saving measure, BC Hydro says several studies suggest the impact on electricity is inconclusive, insignificant, or even non-existent.
An Alberta economist said it actually increases use in that province, though it did result in a slight decrease in B.C., Ontario and Nova Scotia. https://www.cdhowe.org/intelligence-memos/rivers-and-shaffer-does-daylight-saving-time-reduce-energy-consumption-part-2
"BC Hydro is about to embark on a study that we're hoping to release this fall to ask that question - does Daylight Saving Time actually save energy in B.C.?" spokesperson Geoff Hastings said.
"So far the results have been inconclusive but in the next few months we're going to have some sort of an answer."
