THE borough council has been praised for its efforts to promote energy efficiency in the home.

The authority has worked hard to promote energy efficiency and make it easy for people to install measures like cavity wall and loft insulation to reduce gas and electricity needed, which cuts the amount of harmful carbon dioxide released into the atmo-sphere.

The Government Office North West in its response to the council's ninth report on the Home Energy Conservation Act says the council is making steady progress towards meeting its target of a reduction of 23% in carbon emissions by 2010, from the baseline figure in 1996.

Between April 1, 2004 and March 31, 2005 it was estimated energy efficiency measures installed in homes in the borough resulted in a saving of 5,736 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

This represents an improvement of 2.16% over the year and brings the total overall saving to 16.03% since 1996.

If this progress is maintained, the council should reach its target two years ahead of schedule.

The Government Office tells the council: 'We are pleased to see you have maintained a number of activities from previous years with the majority of these set to continue. We note you have built up some partnerships to help carry through your initiatives.

'This kind of joined up working is an excellent way to share ideas and resources.'

Paul Ince, the council's lead officer for the Home Energy Conservation Act, said: 'We are very pleased with progress made so far but are continuing to strive for further improvements.

'We are particularly keen to hear from residents interested in installing renewable energy sources in their homes as this represents the way forward at a time of increasing fuel prices and global warming.'

If you would like to improve the energy efficiency of your home, contact the council's Energy Team on 0151 356 6484.