(It's the toughest question yet for Mr. Answer Person: "How does Daylight Saving Time save energy?")

Mr. Answer Person replies, "First, some background.  Daylight Saving Time ends at 2:00 a.m. Sunday.  That means—let's see, "Spring forward, Fall back," so you fall back which means—let's forget that and turn to the question of why we have DST.*
 
Daylight Saving Time had been extended during World War II and the Arab oil embargo of the 70s because supporters said it would save energy.  But researchers report mixed results when studying that claim.  An Australian power found that electricity use fell evenings during daylight saving time—but rose in the darker morning hours.  A study in Indiana found decreased electricity use for lighting—but increased heating and air conditioning use, costing Indiana more than $7 million a year under DST.  However, a U.S. Department of Energy study found Daylight Saving Time reduced annual U.S. electricity consumption by about half a percent daily.
 
So the research on this question has produced contradictory conclusions.
 
Mr. Answer Person won't disclose his own personal opinion.  But he will pass along a joke about the Native American who complained, "Great White Father in Washington, D.C. cuts off a piece of the blanket on the bottom and sews it to the top of the blanket—and then tells us the blanket is longer!
 
Enjoy your extra hour of sleep!  (turn your clocks back one hour Saturday night)