Over 600 Contestants Auditioned for the “ENERGY STAR(r) Idol” Talent Search

Finalists to be Announced March 31st at the NY Islander Game

Uniondale, NY-March 29, 2007-The Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) is pleased to announce that the first round of the “ENERGY STAR(r) Idol” Talent Search auditions are complete and the excitement continues in anticipation to find LIPA’s first ever “ENERGY STAR IDOL” contest winners. On Saturday March 10th, at the Roosevelt Field Mall, the last
open audition was held and 100 more talented young boys and girls auditioned.  The last videos from all participants have been received and the final 30 contestants have been chosen.

As part of a unique partnership that seeks to educate youngsters about the environmental and economic benefits of energy efficiency as well as protecting our environment, LIPA, Long Island’s very own NHL team the New York Islanders and Long Island’s American Idol Kevin Covais have been searching for Long Island children between 5- 18 to win over the judges with their version of the song “I am an ENERGY STAR.”

The next big event will be held at the Uniondale Marriot on March 31st, between 2 and 5pm in the Grand Ballroom.  All the contestants who auditioned for this contest were invited back to view the final 30 contestants perform one more time.  After their performances during the day time, the final 30 will perform on ice after the 1st period of the Islander game that evening. At the completion of the 2nd period, the Final 9 (3 in each age group) will be announced as our finalists.

Starting April 2, LIPA customers get to be the judge.  From April 2nd through April 13th the 9 finalists and their videos will be presented on the LIPA Web site.  Here the customers will vote for their favorite Energy Idol in each age category.

The “ENERGY STAR IDOL” contest was officially launched on November 21, 2006. Long Island youngsters between the ages of 5 - 18 living in LIPA’s service area participated in the contest by singing their own version of LIPA’s “I am an Energy Star” theme song at select locations across Long Island or they submitted a video of their performance.

The “I am an Energy Star” open-auditions were held at malls and were a huge success. There were many talented contestants singing their rendition of “I am an Energy STAR”, which kept the competition strong and a great time was had by all.

In addition, Long Island’s own American Idol Kevin Covais preformed to the delight of the gathered contestants and hundreds of spectators. There were also celebrity judges, such as Angela Ruggiero, (Gold, Silver and Bronze Olympic medalist, and as seen on “The Apprentice”), Steve Webb, (New York Islanders alumni), and Tyler Christopher, (as seen as Nikolas Cassadine on General Hospital), to show there support of the Energy-Star program and the planet.

Winners of the “I am an Energy Star” contest will be announced in April 2007 and contest winners will appear in LIPA’s upcoming energy efficiency advertising campaign. Each winner will also receive an Energy Star-rated Macintosh laptop computer.

For more information about becoming an Energy Star contestant or to learn more about electric conservation, visit LIPA’s Web site at, www.lipower.org/cei. Or call 1877-ESTARLI. (1-877-378-2754).

LIPA, a non-profit municipal electric utility, owns the retail electric Transmission and Distribution System on Long Island and provides electric service to more than 1.1 million customers in Nassau and Suffolk counties and the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens.  LIPA is the 3rd largest municipal electric utility in the nation in terms of customers served and the 6th largest in terms of electricity delivered.  In 2006, LIPA outperformed all other overhead electric utilities in New York State in all three major reliability categories.  LIPA does not provide
natural gas service or own any on-island generating assets. More information about LIPA can be found online at: www.lipower.org.

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