LIPA and Town of Hempstead to kick-off “Home Performance with ENERGY STAR® Program”

Uniondale, NY - September 19, 2007 -   Long Islanders now have the opportunity to save money and help the environment by utilizing LIPA’s Home Performance with ENERGY STAR® program. The Home Performance program offers residential customers an opportunity to improve overall energy efficiency, comfort and safety, with features such as special cash incentives, Comprehensive Home Assessments and FREE public education seminars. The program can help save up to 40% on energy costs.

To educate its customers, LIPA is kicking off its consumer education campaign with a FREE seminar for the Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program. It will be held in the Pavilion at Hempstead Town Hall, One Washington Street in Hempstead on Thursday, September 27, 2007 at 7:00 pm.

The seminar will be hosted by LIPA CEO Richard M. Kessel, Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray and Renewable Energy Long Island (RELI) Executive Director Gordian Raacke.  Homeowners are invited to learn how they can obtain a Comprehensive Home Assessment by an accredited Building Performance Institute (BPI) contractor, and implement cost effective measures for improving their home’s overall energy efficiency.

“Changing just five light fixtures to ENERGY STAR fixtures can save the typical electric consumer $60 a year or by replacing old light bulbs with Compact Fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) you use 75% less electricity,” said LIPA CEO/President Richard M. Kessel.  “These are the kinds of savings and facts consumers can learn at LIPA’s Home Performance with ENERGY STAR seminars. With the cost of oil rising, it is important to know what energy efficiency improvements will help keep home energy costs down.”

“I am very pleased that Hempstead Town will be hosting the first Home Performance Seminar in our area with LIPA,” said Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray.  “This is a great opportunity for residents to learn how to increase their health, safety and comfort in their homes while reducing electricity consumption and protecting the environment.  The town is glad to provide residents with information enabling them to cut back on energy costs and reduce environmental damage while maintaining a high quality of life,” stated Murray.

“Supervisor Kate Murray must be commended for hosting the first home energy efficiency seminar on Long Island and I look forward to working with the Town of Hempstead and its residents to help people save energy and money while reducing harmful emissions from our homes,” said Gordian Raacke, executive director of Renewable Energy Long Island (RELI), a not-for-profit organization. “We may not realize it, but our homes are often poorly insulated and use antiquated or needlessly wasteful heating and air conditioning systems, appliances and lighting. Thanks to LIPA’s new Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program, homeowners can now get help from specially trained home energy experts and find out how much money they can save by making energy efficiency improvements.”

For improvement measures-that directly result in electric savings- totaling $2,500 or more, a $500 cash back offer on Energy Efficient Home Improvements through LIPA’s Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program is available.  As an extra incentive, the limited time cash back offer has now been extended to February 1, 2008, for work completed by an approved BPI certified contractor.  In addition, to help eligible homeowners get the work done faster, low interest financing or 10% cash-back is also available.

The time has never been better to maximize your home’s performance for greater energy and environmental savings.  For more information on LIPA’s Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program and to sign up for this and other FREE public seminars in your area, please call 1-877-ESTAR-LI (378-2754) or visit www.lipower.org/cei/homeperformance.html today.  Make your home an ENERGY STAR.

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 an on-island generating assets.  More information about LIPA can be found online at:  http://www.lipower.org

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