AN energy “centre of excellence” has opened in Bolton — to help people save money on their bills.

E.ON in Lostock has seen three times the number of people calling about smart meters, which accurately record units of energy used in the home so people can monitor use.

Now, the firm is developing an 85-strong customer service team at its Parklands office to deal with the latest technology.

Twenty four staff have already been reskilled and the remainder will be retrained by the end of the year.

The centre will be E.ON’s second centre of excellence to offer support customers with smart meters or those who want more information.

The firm has also re-trained more than 160 installers across the UK to become smart meter fitters.

Lora Jones, section manager at the Bolton office, said: “I’m really excited to be part of this. The future of energy is changing very fast so it’s great to be able to bring more information and advice to our customers.

“Smart metering lets customers save money and plan their household budgets knowing they will be receiving accurate energy bills. The firm is committed to making energy simple for customers and it’s great to hear good responses about them from customers. Smart meters are free, easy to use and take less than an hour to install.”

Tony Cocker, chief executive of E.ON UK, opened the new Bolton office.

He said: “We are seeing a real shift in demand because customers understand the benefits of smart meters and want them now. They want to see how much energy they’re using and they want more accurate bills.

“That’s why we are re-training our employees to be able to install smart meters and give specialist advice over the phone. The opening of the centre of excellence in Bolton reaffirms our commitment to this.”

With the Government intent to install a smart meter into every UK home by 2019, E.ON has fitted 125,000 across the country over the past 12 months.

It plans to install one million by 2014.

E.ON has been in Bolton since 2006 and is owned by a German parent firm.

The UK firm was formed out of Powergen in 2002.