Brazil DST starts on October 19

Daylight Saving Time season 2014/2015 will start on October 19, running until February 22 next year. Clocks will be turned one hour forward in the South, Southeast, and Central West regions of the country.

Daylight saving time was first established in Brazil in 1931. It is enforced every year around summer and part of spring, when power consumption tends to increase in response to the intensified hot weather and as a result of increased industrial production in the run up to Christmas. With the clocks one hour ahead, people take more advantage of natural daylight, which reduces energy consumption – especially at peak time between 6 pm and 9 pm.

The Ministry of Mines and Energy reports average energy savings around 5% in enforcing regions in recent years. “Analyzes also show that the demand reduction has saved approximately 2 million reais [$830 million] a year worth of new investments to build power plants,” the ministry said.

Translated by Mayra Borges