A pilot project in Bridgend designed to help businesses reduce energy consumption has seen companies save up to 30% on their heating bills.Twelve small and medium sized businesses on Bridgend Industrial Estate took part in the pilot project funded by the Welsh Assembly Government and the Carbon Trust which was co-coordinated by Bridgend Council’s Economic Development Unit’.Smart meters were supplied and installed to electric and gas meters on the premises with savings of between 7% and 30% recorded. The pilot helped businesses understand their day to day energy use and reduce energy wastage.The contract to fit the meters was won by Treforest based EnSave (Enica Ltd). Director Bryan Mullen said Smart Meters were innovative and advanced meters that record a business’ electricity consumption in much greater detail than a conventional meter.He said: "It enables the recording of real-time energy use, which can be collected remotely. After installing the meters we have worked with the companies to help them understand the metering data and to achieve energy, cost and carbon savings.Ieuan Wyn Jones, Minister for the Economy and Transport, said the project was aimed at helping companies reduce their energy consumption and save money.Mr Jones said: "This pilot project is aimed at raising awareness amongst the wider business community of how they can easily make quite significant savings through the use of Smart Meters.The bottom line is they can reduce energy bills which makes good business sense, particularly in the current economic climate. They are also helping to reduce carbon emissions which in turn helps us meet challenging new targets.The results of the pilot project will be turned into case studies and used by the Carbon Trust and communicated to increase business awareness of the benefits of using smart meters to identify possible energy savingsMike Batt, Manager of Carbon Trust Wales, commented: "This project is a fantastic demonstration of the advantages of smart metering to monitor energy consumption and target efficiency improvements. The companies taking part have realised real financial savings whilst reducing their carbon footprint and demonstrating the real value of making business sense of climate change.Ray Pearce, Head of Economic Development at Bridgend County Borough Council said: "One of the important lessons from the pilot is that good business practice from an environmental point of view is usually good business.  Wasted energy is ultimately lost  profit.