Top 10 UK Water Utility Forecasts Major Savings from Multi-Million Pound Energy Management Software Investment

By Derceto, PRNE
Tuesday, April 19, 2011

WELLINGTON, New Zealand, April 21, 2011 - One of the top ten UK water utility companies - Northumbrian Water Ltd -
has awarded a multi-million pound contract to specialist New Zealand water
utility optimization software company Derceto via their UK partner, Mouchel.

Derceto's CEO Wayne Spittal says the contract, the largest signed by
Derceto to date, will see Derceto implement its Aquadapt software throughout
Northumbrian Water Ltd plants in the UK, enabling significant energy cost
savings of around GBP 1 million (USD 1.6 million) annually.

The implementation, at all five major water networks within Northumbrian
Water's operating areas in Essex, Suffolk, and the north-east of England,
will also deliver other operational benefits.

Northumbrian Water serves a population of 2.6 million people in the
north-east of England with water and sewerage services. Essex & Suffolk Water
supplies water to 1.7 million people in the Essex, south Norfolk and north
Suffolk areas.

Northumbrian Water Network Manager Dennis Dellow says the decision to
purchase Aquadapt had been driven primarily by the need to control, manage
and predict energy costs.

"For a water utility, energy is the second highest cost after labour,"
Dellow says. "We are principally interested in Derceto's Aquadapt as a way of
reducing energy costs, mainly through more efficient pump scheduling. But as
the product was evaluated, and Derceto analyzed the cost saving
opportunities, it became clear that in addition to achieving significant
energy savings, Aquadapt could also provide accurate energy modeling, and
that data could be used to negotiate more favorable three-year energy supply
contracts."

He says there will also be operational benefits from being able to
support individual operators with a powerful software tool designed to enable
consistent and predictable operation.

"Because we have a lot of storage we have quite a lot flexibility in how
we pump the water. But we have a highly complex system with hundreds of
pumping stations and reservoirs, so it's a big challenge to maintain supply
and manage reservoirs at operational levels while at the same time maximizing
lowest cost electricity use. This is a bigger and more complex problem than
can be managed by individual operators over such a large number of sites."

Dellow says that in looking for a solution Northumbrian Water went out to
the entire market throughout Europe.

"We certainly found no other product that would do what Aquadapt can do.
Some vendors said they could develop a solution, but we saw Derceto's
Aquadapt as a proven and working solution, already doing what we want to do
at other water utilities in North America, New Zealand and Australia."

Northumbrian Water's implementation of Derceto's Aquadapt will be a first
across the European Union, Dellow says.

"No other water company in Europe is doing it on this scale. We have a
lot of work ahead of us to deliver on the business case, but we are very
confident that we can achieve the cost savings and efficiencies forecast -
and significantly reduce our energy costs over the long haul."

A rolling implementation throughout the five discrete water distribution
systems within Northumbrian Water will be completed over the next 20 months
with support from Mouchel, Derceto's UK implementation partner.

Summary for journalists: Water utility pump optimization software company
Derceto - which has its Aquadapt software implemented at water utilities in
the US (including clients in Gwinnett County, Atlanta; Johnson County,
Kansas
; Perris Valley and Oakland, California; and Laurel, Maryland),
Australia and New Zealand - has signed a strategic first implementation deal
in the European Union - Northumbrian Water Ltd in the United Kingdom. Derceto
has customers in New Zealand, Australia, the United States, Canada, the
United Kingdom, and South Korea.

About Derceto:

Derceto develops, supports and sells the Aquadapt(R) suite of water
utility optimization software to water utility companies worldwide.
www.derceto.com

About Northumbrian Water Group: www.nwg.co.uk

About Mouchel: www.mouchel.com

    CONTACT:
    Sayle Noble & Associates.
    Natalie Moerdyk on Mobile: +64-21-1306599
    DDI: +64-9-307-8459
    email: natalie@noble.co.nz

.

YOUR VIEW POINT
NAME : (REQUIRED)
MAIL : (REQUIRED)
will not be displayed
WEBSITE : (OPTIONAL)
YOUR
COMMENT :