Easton Honored as a High Achievement Energy Leader At ENERGY STAR® Achievement Ceremony

Photo from left: Carol Labore, system maintenance lead engineer, United Illuminating; Carroll Brooke, member, Easton Energy Task Force; Adam Dunsby, first selectman, Town of Easton; Anthony Marone, president and chief executive officer, UIL Holdings Corporation; Linda Darveau, environmental scientist, Environmental Protection Agency.

On Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2016, the Town of Easton’s energy efficiency efforts were recognized at a special ceremony held at the Energize Connecticut Center in North Haven. The ENERGY STAR® Achievement Ceremony was developed by United Illuminating (UI), a subsidiary of AVANGRID Inc., to honor municipalities 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.

UIL Holdings Corporation President and Chief Executive Officer Anthony Marone lead 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.

Since joining Clean Energy Communities in 2012, Easton added 10 municipal buildings and two board of education buildings to their ENERGY STAR portfolio, an online tool created by the EPA to measure and track energy and water consumption, as well as greenhouse emissions. Both board of education buildings are either eligible for or have already received ENERGY STAR certification.

The town invested more than $59,000 in incentives to complete lighting and gas boiler upgrades and Energy Management System installations. Furthermore, they have made a conscious effort to implement low or no-cost ways to reduce energy.

Easton’s efforts have resulted in an approximate annual reduction of 1,801 MMbtu which is equal to the amount of energy consumed by roughly 18 homes. Additionally, the city reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 377 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCDE) which produces the same results as if they removed about 79 cars from the road for one year. Annual site electricity usage has decreased by nearly 143,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) generating an estimated savings of about $18,500 each year. Overall, Easton has achieved an annual estimated energy cost savings of more than $235,000.

“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.”

These energy-conscious efforts by Easton 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. Easton’s recent efforts resulted in a progression of four percent towards their ultimate goal.

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.