Con Edison Is An 'Energy Star' For Helping Customers Conserve
U.S. EPA Honors Company for Efficiency Programs
Con Edison has received an award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for fighting climate change and protecting public health by helping customers use less energy.
The company earned the 2021 Energy Star Partner of the Year Sustained Excellence Award for its energy efficiency programs. Those programs provide incentives to customers who upgrade their lighting, HVAC systems, appliances and other equipment.
“It is gratifying to receive this honor from the agency that leads our nation’s quest to ensure that we keep our air and water clean and fight climate change,” said Gregory Elcock, Con Edison’s director of Energy Efficiency Programs. “Avoiding energy usage is the most cost-effective and efficient way to prevent emissions of carbon and other greenhouse gases from entering the air.”
“You are among the nation’s leaders in deploying energy efficiency to drive value for your businesses, for the environment and for the American people,” EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said in a letter to Tim Cawley, the chief executive of Con Edison. “Your sustained commitment is precisely what is needed to solve the climate crisis and build a clean energy economy.”
Regan also said it was impressive that Con Edison’s energy efficiency programs have continued to succeed through the disruption the Covid-19 pandemic has caused.
The EPA recognized Con Edison for several 2020 accomplishments. They included saving customers more than 245,000 megawatt hours of electricity with incentives for Energy Star lighting and for improvements in programs for water heaters.
The agency also praised the company for a new incentive for variable-speed pool pumps and expanding programs for air conditioners, dehumidifiers, smart thermostats and refrigerators.
The Sustained Excellence award is the highest honor bestowed by the Energy Star program.
Con Edison energy efficiency programs include offerings for every customer group – residential, owners of multi-family buildings, and commercial and industrial.
Since 2009, Con Edison has helped more than 1.3 million customers save with energy efficiency upgrades, avoiding 11 million tons of carbon emissions. Those customers received more than $700 million in incentives.
Energy efficiency is a key part of Con Edison Inc.’s Clean Energy Commitment. The company plans on tripling those programs and investing $1.5 billion by 2025.
It is the second significant award Con Edison has gotten this year for its environmental performance. In April, the Smart Electric Power Alliance named Con Edison to its Utility Transformation Leadership Board for its commitment to creating a clean, carbon-free energy system.
SEPA, a nonprofit organization that envisions a carbon-free electric system by 2050, ranked Con Edison high for its electric vehicles strategy, its work to connect customers who install solar panels and other clean-energy resources, and its smart meter program.
Con Edison is a subsidiary of Consolidated Edison, Inc. [NYSE: ED], one of the nation’s largest investor-owned energy companies, with approximately $12 billion in annual revenues and $63 billion in assets. The utility delivers electricity, natural gas and steam to 3.5 million customers in New York City and Westchester County, N.Y. For financial, operations and customer service information, visit conEd.com.