Worthing-based Southern Water has joined a working party looking at ways customers can benefit from competition in the water industry.

The working party, also consisting of Thames Water, North West Water and IT solutions company Logica, will carry out a feasibility study over the next two months.

Southern Water will be drawing on the experiences gained by its parent company, Scottish Power, when deregulation opened up both the gas and electricity industries, to help move competition in the water industry closer.

Sales and services manager Steve Morley said: "Over the next two months the group will be looking at how competition in the water industry will work in practice and what new business processes are needed to ensure the industry can meet its obligations.

"One area of particular interest to Southern Water is how the transfer of information from one company to another can be carried out quickly and efficiently.

"Our objectives will be to make it as simple as possible for customers to choose who supplies their water."

The findings of the working party will be shared with other water companies, interested parties and the Government, which is currently looking at how competition could work in the future.