On Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2016, municipal leaders, city officials and clean energy task force members convened at the Energize Connecticut Center in North Haven for the ENERGY STAR® Achievement Ceremony. United Illuminating (UI), a subsidiary of AVANGRID Inc., hosted the event to honor all cities and towns in UI service territory for their recent ENERGY STAR eligibility or certifications, as well as a continued commitment to the Clean Energy Communities program sponsored through the Energize Connecticut initiative. More than 50 buildings were recognized, resulting in the distribution of more than 30 awards.
UIL Holdings Corporation President and Chief Executive Officer Anthony Marone led a panel of speakers that included Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Environmental Scientist Linda Darveau and Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Commissioner Robert Klee.
Attendees were joined by officials from UI and the EPA, as well as representatives from both state and federal legislature.
Each municipality was recognized individually for their benchmarking of energy saving projects. These efforts have collectively generated an approximate annual reduction of more than 97,500 million British thermal units, which is equal to the amount of energy consumed by roughly 975 homes. Additionally, greenhouse gas emissions were reduced by approximately 3,770 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, which produces the same results as if they removed nearly 900 cars from the road for one year.
These results were tracked through the ENERGY STAR portfolio, an online tool created by the EPA to measure and track energy and water consumption, as well as greenhouse emissions. The municipalities that have made a diligent effort to maintain their portfolio in addition to a strong commitment to the Clean Energy Communities program were honored as ENERGY STAR High Achievement Energy Leaders.
These leaders included:
• Bridgeport • New Haven
• East Haven • North Branford
• Easton • North Haven
• Hamden • West Haven
• Milford • Woodbridge
The ENERGY STAR Achievement Ceremony was developed to showcase current benchmarking accomplishments while simultaneously fostering future successes, and the remaining municipalities were recognized for their commitment to the Clean Energy Communities program. They were encouraged to contact their UI engineer to discuss how they can use the wide variety of available resources to further reduce their environmental impact and achieve ENERGY STAR certification.
“Offering valuable programs through our partnership in the Energize Connecticut initiative is of utmost importance to our company and we strongly encourage our municipalities to take advantage of the opportunity to manage their energy consumption,” said Anthony Marone, president and chief executive officer, UIL Holdings Corporation, a subsidiary of AVANGRID Inc. “This collaboration with the EPA has allowed us to witness tangible results from these efforts and, in my opinion, is a major reason why Connecticut is one of the most energy efficient states in the nation.”
The energy-conscious undertakings by these municipalities are part of an overall pledge made when joining the Clean Energy Communities program to reduce energy consumption by 20 percent and support renewable energy by 20 percent by 2018.
To learn more about programs offered through the Energize Connecticut initiative, please visit energizect.com or call 1-877-WISE-USE.
About Energize Connecticut:
Energize Connecticut helps you save money and use clean energy. It is an initiative of the Energy Efficiency Fund, the Connecticut Green Bank, the State, and your local electric and gas utilities, with funding from a charge on customer energy bills. Information on energy-saving programs can be found at energizect.com or by calling 1-877-WISE-USE.