London, U.K. --- (METERING.COM) --- June 10, 2011 - A trial by Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) in the community of North Leigh, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom, has shown a reduction in energy consumption by 10 percent over three consecutive months.

For this project, SSE provided smart meters to the 800-home community, making the 2,000 villagers of North Leigh some of the first in the United Kingdom to have smart meters installed in their homes. The smart meters gathered data in real time and communicated that information back to the energy supplier, and this was then made available to individuals on a website, allowing them to view their energy usage and to make informed choices to reduce their electricity demand.

“The smart meters made an important contribution to the overall success of the project providing reliable and accurate information,” said Andrew Monks, program manager at SSE.

The North Leigh project, branded “Challenge North Leigh!,” was part of the government-sponsored Energy Demand Research Project (EDRP) backed by the Department of Energy and Climate Change and the industry regulator, Ofgem.

The results of the study are helping U.K. officials determine the ideal technology deployment strategy to empower consumers to maximize cost and energy savings – a key factor in helping the nation achieve its goal of 20 percent carbon reduction by 2020 as part of the European Union’s 20/20/20 initiative.

SSE adopted North Leigh as one of three national projects to motivate communities to reduce electricity consumption in July 2007. The other two communities were located in Scotland and Wales.