Hong Kong  - Hong Kong has saved the equivalent of 70 million kilowatt hours a year by turning down the air conditioning in government buildings, officials announced Wednesday.

Government departments were ordered in 2004 to turn down the city's notoriously icy indoor air conditioning to 25.5 degrees Celsius to save energy in the high-rise city of
6.9 million.

The result of the energy-saving move, legislators were told Wednesday, was that power usage in the affected buildings fell from 2,190 million kilowatt hours in 2004-2005 to
2,120 million kilowatt hours in 2006-2007.

Overall energy consumption and electricity spending by the government rose over the same period because new buildings and facilities were opened that were not included in the count.

However, the initiative has been generally applauded by green groups who say still more needs to be done to reduce the carbon footprint of the city.

Some shopping centres and offices still have air conditioning turned down to below 20 degrees Celsius during the summer months when outdoor temperatures in Hong Kong climb to the mid 30s. (dpa)