ENERGY STAR recognition gives boost to utility efficiency programs
By successfully matching customers’ need for savings with a desire to be environmentally responsible, Columbia Gas of Ohio has been named an ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year–Sustained Excellence for the sixth year in a row.
The award by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recognizes utilities that promote energy efficiency and support ENERGY STAR residential and certified products programs.
Partnering with ENERGY STAR allows Columbia Gas of Ohio to provide numerous options to its customers, from a smart thermostat or a high-efficiency furnace to whole-house weatherization, Vince Parisi, vice president of customer and external affairs at Columbia Gas of Ohio, told American Gas. The ENERGY STAR brand also helps builders convince customers of the extra value in these homes.
When Columbia Gas of Ohio provides products and programs with the ENERGY STAR logo, customers know they will benefit. In fact, the utility has sold about twice as many ENERGY STAR-certified thermostats as it expected, which means customers are saving more money and energy, he said.
“That trust is important in helping us meet our savings goals,” Parisi said. “Savings are important, but they’re not the only benefit from our ENERGY STAR programs. They make homes more comfortable, provide better indoor air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The measures we’ve installed will reduce greenhouse gases over their lifetime as much as taking nearly a million cars off the road for one year.”
Each year, the EPA honors a group of businesses and organizations that have made outstanding contributions to protecting the environment through superior energy efficiency achievements. The 2018 ENERGY STAR Award winners lead their industries in the production and sale of energy-efficient products and services and in the development and adoption of strategies that provide substantial energy and money savings in the buildings where they live and work.
Other AGA members receiving ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year–Sustained Excellence recognition include Baltimore Gas and Electric Company, CenterPoint Energy, Consumers Energy, Delmarva Power, National Grid and PECO Energy Company.
