Several buildings at the University of Virginia turned off the lights for an hour Thursday in an effort to cut back on energy use.
The university switched some of its operations to generator for an hour in hopes of reducing electrical demand by 10 megawatts, or 18 percent of its energy use.
The university asked employees, like the ones at UVA's Alumni Hall, to cut back on their electrical use at work as much as possible between 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.
UVA Alumni Association President Tom Faulders said, "Going back to what a few of us still remember which is using telephones, using paper and pencils. We'll turn down lights, we'll turn off our computers, we're turn probably off our air conditioning."
The exercise is part of the school's participation in the state Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy's demand response program.
