A water company has been praised for its efforts to reduce energy consumption.

Worthing-based Southern Water was one of a handful of utitility companies to gain official accreditation from the Energy Efficiency Foundation in Birmingham this week.

The company has combined heat and power plants at six treatment works in Sussex and Kent which use gas produced during sewage treatment to generate electricity.

The electricity is used to power the treatment works. Meanwhile, the heat recovered from the power plant's engine is also recycled.

It helps treat solid waste removed from the wastewater so it can be safely recycled as an organic agricultural fertiliser.

Zubin Bhumgara, Southern's principal process engineer, said: "Energy efficiency benefits the company as well as the planet because we are cutting electricity use.

"Everyone is conscious of their 'carbon footprint' these days - the lasting impact we have on the planet - and we are working really hard to do our part."

Tuesday, January 24, 2006