EAST PROVIDENCE, RI — Today, U.S. Senator Jack Reed teamed up with National Grid to promote energy efficiency and help save consumers money.  Reed, who is working to help pass bipartisan energy efficiency legislation through Congress, joined representatives from National Grid, who are conducting no-cost energy audits to help renters, homeowners, and small businesses improve their energy efficiency.  The event was held at the home of Mary Lyons in Rumford.

During these home energy audits, a certified National Grid employee will do a thorough walk through of the property, analyzing the building’s energy use, checking for air leaks, assessing insulation, evaluating household appliances, lighting, and heating/cooling systems, and even landscaping issues.  Often, there are several simple changes property owners can undertake to improve energy efficiency and increase their energy savings around the house.

Senator Reed says improving energy efficiency can help consumers and taxpayers save money, create jobs, and help counter climate change.

“Being smarter about how we use energy will help strengthen our economy, create jobs, improve our energy security, and protect our environment,” said Reed.  “I want to spread the word about how people can get greater energy efficiency and lower their energy bills.  And on a national level, investing in a cleaner, more efficient energy system is one of the fastest, most cost-effective ways to increase our global competitiveness, support job growth, and save families and businesses money through improved efficiency and reduced energy consumption.”

The energy audit is just one of the programs included National Grid’s energy efficiency initiative; an initiative that will have an environmental impact equivalent to removing 225,000 motor vehicles off the road for a year.  The programs are projected to save Rhode Islanders over $25 million annually in electricity and gas costs.

“I appreciate National Grid’s efforts to help consumers, businesses, and public buildings better manage their energy costs and improve their energy efficiency,” said Reed, who is the Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior & Environment and a champion of the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP), a federal program that helps low-income families, seniors, and individuals with disabilities make energy-efficiency improvements to their homes and save on their energy bills.  Reed has helped secure over $25 million in federal weatherization assistance to help create green jobs and enable more Rhode Islanders to make energy-efficiency improvements to their homes and reduce their energy bills.

In addition to lowering energy use, National Grid’s energy programs have proven to be strong job creators.  In 2013, more than 540 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees had work as a result of National Grid’s investment.  One FTE equals 1,760 work hours, or the total of one person working 8 hours a day for 220 work days in an average year.  Because a “full-time equivalent” employee often represents the labors of more than one person over the course of a year, the number of individual workers employed as result of Rhode Island energy efficiency programs funded by National Grid is actually far larger than the total of FTEs.

National Grid contractors have reported double digit job growth as a result of energy initiatives, proving that pursuing energy efficiency can lead to sustainable job creation.  Rhode Island’s support of the energy audits and similar programs show the state’s commitment to improving employment while simultaneously reducing energy consumption.

When it comes to energy efficiency, the United States ranks 13th out of 16 of the world’s largest economies according to a new report released by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.  The report ranks the world’s 16 largest economies based on 31 different measurements of efficiency, including national energy savings targets, fuel economy standards for vehicles, efficiency standards for appliances, average vehicle mpg, and energy consumed per square foot of floor space in residential buildings, among other metrics.

Senator Reed advocates passage of the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act, which will help reduce pollution and spur the use of energy efficiency technologies in the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors of our economy.  The deficit-neutral bill uses a variety of low-cost tools to help energy users become more efficient while making the country's largest energy user - the federal government - reduce its energy use through the use of energy-efficient technology.

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