South Africa saved about 400 megawatts during Earth Hour, Eskom said on Sunday.

This meant South Africans switched off a total of 4.7 million 60 watt lightbulbs between 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, as part of a global initiative for action against climate change, said spokesman Fani Zulu.

"This also means one unit of power at each of our small power stations was saved," he said.

In Melville, Johannesburg a few restaurants opted for candlelight. The Johannesburg skyline looked decidedly dimmer, although the Vodacom advert on top of the Ponte tower still flashed merrily.

At music venue and restaurant the Blues Room in Sandton, patrons were asked to light the candles which had been put on all the tables, before the lights were turned off. There was also no music, but that was because the sound system didn't work.

Earth Hour was started in Sydney, Australia in 2007 by the World Wide Fund for Nature. About two million people participated.

Two years later tourist attractions including Table Mountain in Cape Town and the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil had their lights switched off. The Sydney Opera House, the Burj al Arab Hotel in Dubai, the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff joined in the campaign.

(Xinhua News Agency March 30, 2009)