EPA Recognizes Northeast Energy Efficiency Initiative with 2015 ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence Award

Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships and its Sponsors earns 16th consecutive award for its sustained leadership to protect the environment

LEXINGTON, MA, April 6, 2015 – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP) and twelve of its sponsors with a 2015 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence Award recognizing their continued leadership in protecting our environment through outstanding energy efficiency achievements. NEEP’s recognized project, The Northeast Retail Products Initiative, includes utilities and energy efficiency program administrators in New England, New York, and Washington D.C. NEEP and its sponsors will be recognized at the annual ENERGY STAR awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. on April 20, 2015.

With the 2015 ENERGY STAR Partner award, NEEP and the Northeast Retail Products Initiative sponsors, will be honored for their long-term commitment to energy efficiency for the 15th straight year. An ENERGY STAR partner since 2000, the Initiative has won 16 awards, this one marking the eighth consecutive Sustained Excellence Award – the most prestigious.

For nearly twenty years, NEEP’s Initiative participants have been collaborating to build greater market awareness and availability of ENERGY STAR lighting, consumer electronics, and appliance products throughout the region through coordinated promotions, consistent marketing messages and shared learning. By leveraging their collective resources to serve together more than 15 million households, NEEP’s sponsoring energy efficiency program partners are able to yield more energy and cost savings than through individual state or service territory program efforts. Participants of the Northeast Retail Products Initiative honored by the ENERGY STAR award include:

• Cape Light Compact
• Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative
• The DC Sustainable Energy Utility (DCSEU)
• Efficiency Vermont
• Eversource CT Electric
• Eversource Eastern MA
• Eversource Western MA
• National Grid (Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York)
• NHSaves (Liberty Utilities, Eversource NH, New Hampshire Electric Co-op, Unitil)
• New York State Energy Research Development Authority (NYSERDA)
• PSEG-Long Island
• The United Illuminating Company

“NEEP is committed to accelerating energy efficiency on a regional scale through partnerships such as our Northeast Retail Products Initiative” said Sue Coakley, Executive Director of NEEP. “We are very proud of our electric, gas and efficiency utility sponsoring partners for their tremendous success in making the region a sustained leader in energy efficiency.  This collective success is a direct result of utility commitment coupled with regulatory policy support to make energy efficiency a priority resource to meet customer needs for reliable, affordable and environmentally sustainable energy.”

Since its inception in 1992, ENERGY STAR and its partners have helped prevent a total of more than two billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions. In 2013 alone, ENERGY STAR and its partners provided more than $11 billion in societal benefits due to reducing damages from climate change.

“Through their sustained participation with ENERGY STAR, Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships and its partners in the Northeast Retail Products Initiative are helping Americans save money, save energy, and do their part to reduce our nation’s greenhouse gas emissions that fuel climate change,” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. “I applaud NEEP and the Northeast Retail Products Initiative for earning EPA’s highest ENERGY STAR award, the 2015 Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence Award, demonstrating a strong commitment to energy efficiency and to preserving a healthy planet for future generations.”

The 2015 Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence Awards are given to a variety of organizations to recognize their contributions to reducing greenhouse gas emissions through exceptional energy efficiency achievements. These winners have reduced greenhouse gas emissions by setting and achieving aggressive goals, and employing innovative energy efficiency approaches. These awards recognize ongoing leadership across the ENERGY STAR program, including energy-efficient products, services, new homes, and buildings in the commercial, industrial, and public sectors.

For a complete list of 2015 winners and information, and more information about ENERGY STAR’s awards program, visit www.energystar.gov/awardwinners.

ABOUT NEEP

NEEP is a regional non-profit serving the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region to accelerate energy efficiency in the building sector through public policy, program strategies and education. NEEP’s supports the collaboration of energy efficiency program administrators and other key stakeholders across the region to achieve long-term cost-effective energy savings by broadening the market availability and consumer demand for high quality, energy efficient products and services.  Visit www.neep.org for more details.

About ENERGY STAR

ENERGY STAR® is the simple choice for energy efficiency achievements. For more than 20 years, people across America have looked to EPA’s ENERGY STAR program for guidance on how to save energy, save money, and protect the environment. Behind each blue label is a product, building, or home that is independently certified to use less energy and cause fewer of the emissions that contribute to climate change. Today, ENERGY STAR is the most widely recognized symbol for energy efficiency in the world, helping families and businesses save $300 billion on utility bills, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by two billion metric tons since 1992. Join the millions who are already making a difference at energystar.gov.

Contacts:

Kristinn Leonhart, ENERGY STAR Brand Manager