Early Daylight Savings no major power saver

April 2 2007: 5:33 PM EDT
NEW YORK (Reuters) -- The early onset of Daylight Savings Time in the United States this year may have been for naught.

The move to turn the clocks forward by an hour on March 11 rather than the usual early April date was mandated by the U.S. government as an energy-saving effort.

But other than forcing millions of drowsy American workers and school children into the dark, wintry weather three weeks early, the move appears to have had little impact on power usage.

"We haven't seen any measurable impact," said Jason Cuevas, spokesman for Southern Co. (Charts), one of the nation's largest power companies, echoing comments from several large utilities.

That may come as no surprise to the Energy Department, which last year predicted only modest energy savings because the benefits of the later daylight hour would be offset. [more]

Has this change saved more than what it cost to the IT and airline industries, and dangers to school children going home in the dark?

Would an incandescent light bulb ban (as Australia has done) and/or raised CAFE standards been much more effective and substantial?