Close to 40 restaurants in Vancouver, Richmond and North Vancouver will dim their lights and dial up the ambiance on Oct. 28 to show support for electricity conservation.

A new initiative by BC Hydro, in partnership with Tourism Vancouver, will see restaurants like downtown’s C Restaurant and Kitsilano’s Trattoria Italian Kitchen, serving dinner by candlelight.

“We often find that one of the biggest barriers to electricity conservation is a lack of awareness – people don’t know what to do or where to start,” said BC Hydro president and CEO Bob Elton. “We are pleased to host this initiative with Tourism Vancouver and its member restaurants to demonstrate to the public that simply turning off your lights can help.”

Tourism Vancouver’s chair, Rick Baxter, echoed the sentiments. “Conservation is such an important issue for the tourism industry,” said Baxter. “We hope that by getting our restaurant members involved in events like the Candlelight Conservation Dinner, our industry can lead the way in showing how important small changes are in making a big difference for the environment.”

As a part of the initiative, participating restaurants are offering patrons who are members of BC Hydro’s Team Power Smart special deals on dining, including two entrées for the price of one, a $5 gift certificate per person or a complimentary appetizer or dessert with the purchase of an entrée. Team members can download the coupons from the Team Power Smart section of BC Hydro’s web site.

Team Power Smart is open to all British Columbians. By joining the team at bchydro.com individuals can set an electricity conservation target of 10 per cent and get access to tools and resources to help them meet their target.

Harry Kambolis, owner of Vancouver’s Raincity Grill, is not only a Team Power Smart member, but his restaurant has also recently made energy efficiency upgrades. “It’s important for the business community to lead by example,” said Kambolis. “We are doing that not only by participating in this initiative but also through the conservation retrofits we have made recently.”

For British Columbians looking to make the switch to energy efficient lighting, BC Hydro is reminding the public that October is Power Smart month and customers can get rebates on energy efficient lighting products.

Tourism Vancouver first partnered with BC Hydro in 2008 to elevate green practices within the association’s membership of more than 1,000 businesses. The focus of the partnership is to help businesses demonstrate leadership in energy conservation and encourage all member organizations to participate in Power Smart programs.

For more information on the candlelight conservation dinner, including a list of participating restaurants, visit www.bchydro.com or www.tourismvancouver.com/candlelight.