Cleaning up: electric co-op seeks to cut carbon footprint.

The New Hampshire Electric Cooperative has entered into a partnership with Portsmouth-based Clean Air-Cool Planet in an effort to quantify and reduce the company's greenhouse gas emissions.

Adam Markham, chief executive of Clean Air-Cool Planet, said his organization will provide its expertise in the area of greenhouse gas calculation, and then assist the co-op in preparing a plan to reduce or eliminate emissions from its use of electricity and other fuels in the direct operations of the company.

He said the co-op intends to use what it learns in the process with CA-CP to help other utilities.

According to the co-op's president, Fred Anderson, the program focuses on internal business operations and "is part of the strategic actions we are taking to reduce carbon emissions across the three major segments of our organization: energy procurement, internal business operations and members' energy usage. This initiative will complement our nationally recognized energy efficiency programs that are now enabling our member-owners to reduce their carbon footprints."

The inventory, planning and implementation process will take the company through the summer, officials said.