Students and school bus drivers will gain an extra hour of morning light, but not until Nov. 4. The extension of daylight-saving time was a provision of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

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The Providence Journal Bob Thayer

More than 200 years since the idea sprang from the nimble mind of Benjamin Franklin, Americans have grown used to the twice-annual ritual of adjusting the clock to get the most out of the sun’s energy.

This year, the sunlight-maximizing measure has been extended to begin one week earlier (the second Sunday in March) and end one week later in the fall (the first week in November).

The two-week extension of daylight-saving time was a provision of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which, among other things, prohibited drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge and extended oil and gas subsidies for American companies.

While daylight-saving time ends a week from tomorrow at 2 a.m., technically, clocks should be set back to 1 a.m. when they hit 1:59 a.m.

The switch is a minor inconvenience for most, but it poses problems for industries and individuals active at this early hour.

For example, Amtrak trains running overnight make the trip an hour longer for passengers arriving at destinations after 2 a.m., said Amtrak spokesman Cliff Cole. To stay on schedule, trains wait for an hour at the first station they pull into after the switch, Cole said. (Conversely, they are an hour late during the March transition.)

Train trips may be longer, but maybe there will be an extra hour to enjoy such activities as a late night at your favorite watering hole.

Not so. Even though the clock is switched back at 1:59 a.m., and never actually reaches two o’clock, drinkers are not granted an extra hour at the bar, says William DeLuca, spokesman for the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation.

“The way that the law is written, last call is 10 minutes before closing time,” DeLuca said.

DeLuca said the agency has not received any complaints about closing time from bar owners.

Patrons are cooperative, too, said Bobby Hindle, a bartender at Murphy’s Deli & Bar in downtown Providence.

“They understand,” he said.

Not getting an extra hour at the bar may not be that upsetting, but what happens in March when drinkers lose an hour?

One rowdy group of more than 1,000 college students in Athens, Ohio, rioted when their night was cut short — throwing bottles at the police and chanting “Freedom.”

Hindle said that to avoid losing an hour (and possibly upsetting people), Murphy’s changes its clocks after closing time.

To some people, an hour means a lot.

Just ask the people who run the candy industry.

One of their most lucrative nights is approaching — Halloween.

Among the strongest supporters of the extended daylight-saving time were the candy makers, who stood to give trick-or-treaters an extra hour of daylight to solicit goodies from doorsteps across the country.

Daylight-saving time has been a topic of controversy in the past, generally over the inconvenience of adjusting clocks and the actual energy-saving merit of the practice.

Proponents of daylight-saving time say the practice reduces energy use by 1 percent every day it’s in effect. Others contend this is not true, saying the extra sunlight spurs more errands and trips to visit friends and family.

Oddly, federal law does not require states to enforce daylight-saving time, so Arizona, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and several other U.S. territories don’t switch over from standard time.

About 70 countries in the world practice some form of daylight-saving time, with Japan, China and India being notable exceptions.

The daylight-saving time switch is also a good time to check the battery on your smoke alarm, says the Rhode Island Association of Fire Chiefs.

Sometimes even the authorities have a hard time keeping up with the changes.

The agency initially sent out a press release to remind Rhode Islanders to turn back their clocks and check their batteries on Oct. 28 — tomorrow, which would be one week too early.

ngarcia@projo.com