Lewisham Council are trialling software designed to cut energy bills by automatically switching off computers left on by staff overnight.

The trial of the software on 100 computers began yesterday (November 3).

Unsaved data is protected by the software before it shuts down a computer, and will first display a message in case a staff member is working late.

Green Party councillors claim a similar scheme used by Staffordshire Council saved £40,000 a year and have welcomed the trial.

Councillor Ute Michel said: “I’m very glad the council is trying out this common sense measure.

“But I hope they will extend it from a limited test run to a much larger scale and not spend unnecessary cash on it.”