Daylight-saving time comes earlier

  • Published
  • By Joe Boeggeman
  • 66th Mission Support Group Communications and Information Division deputy chief and technical advise
Hanscom AFB --  As a part of a cost-cutting study by the Department of Energy, traditional
daylight-saving time will be extended in 2007 for the first time since 1966. 

The Energy Policy Act of 2005, which was signed by President
George W. Bush on Aug. 8, 2005, changed the dates for daylight-saving
time in the United States. 

Beginning this year, DST starts on the second Sunday in March and ends the first Sunday in November. The Secretary of Energy will report the impact of this change to Congress, who retains the right to resume the 2005 daylight-saving time schedule once the study is complete. 

For the next few years, DST will look something like this:
2007 -- DST begins on March 11 and ends Nov. 4
2008 -- DST begins on March 9 and ends Nov. 2
2009 -- DST begins on March 8 and ends Nov. 1
2010 -- DST begins on March 14 and ends Nov. 7 

To consumers, this may result in some minor inconveniences to watches, clocks, computer and household electronics. 

The Hanscom community is reminded to manually set the time forward an hour on March 11. However, on April 1, individuals may have to set clocks, computers, and other household electronics back an hour if they are equipped with an automatic daylight-saving feature. The same will apply in reverse on Oct. 28 and Nov. 4. 

The impact is similar to the minor effects felt at the end of the last millennium (also known as the Y2K effect). 

The 66th Communications and Information Division will guard against the potential to have both improper dates and or times displayed, said Lt. Col. William Ross, 66th Communications and Information Division commander. "The impacts of this change are not considered significant, but members of the division will nonetheless check each Air Force system for potential problems." 

Base customers who experience problems using government computers should call the Hanscom Response Center at (781) 377-4357 or the organization's computer systems administrator. All others should consult local computer shops or technical services. 

Daylight-saving time, or the practice of setting the clock ahead by one hour in the spring and back in the fall, was first done in the United States in 1918 as a way of conserving resources during World War I. 

In 1966 Congress passed the Uniform Time Act of 1966, which defined current daylight savings time. It did allow exceptions; today only eastern Indiana, Arizona and Hawaii do not change to daylight-saving time.