Kiwis switch off to Earth Hour message

Much of Auckland's CBD was plunged into darkness during last night's Earth Hour - but the region only recorded a 1 per cent power saving. Photo / Chris Gorman

The West Coast led New Zealand's power savings efforts during Earth Hour last night while at the other end of the country, Northland was one of several regions that recorded zero power savings.

New Zealand kicked off the event, with the lights on public buildings and in private homes being flicked off between 8.30pm and 9.30pm.

Lights dimmed on Auckland's Sky Tower, at Parliament, in Cathedral Square in Christchurch and at Dunedin's Octagon. A few hours later, the Sydney Opera House fell into darkness.

As nightfall begins in Europe, organiser Lee Barry says more than 1200 landmarks worldwide are expected to fall dark, including the world's tallest building in Dubai, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, London's Big Ben and the Empire State Building in New York.

Estimated figures from Energy Market Services show that during Earth Hour in New Zealand, Northland, the Bay of Plenty, Taranaki, South Canterbury and Otago-Southland saved no power, while at the other end of the scale, the West Coast recorded 13 per cent power savings.

Auckland managed one per cent, Waikato five per cent, the Hawke's Bay two per cent, the Central North Island two per cent, Wellington four per cent, Nelson-Marlborough four per cent and Canterbury eight per cent.

New Zealand's estimated total savings of electricity was two per cent.

The symbolic one-hour switch-off has become a global event, aimed at highlighting energy conservation and is organised by the charity World Wide Fund for Nature, which expects participation this year to be the highest so far with a billion people worldwide taking part.

- NEWSTALK ZB