Con Edison and Food Banks Brighten Homes with Bulb Giveaway Program
For a Second Straight Year, Energy Company and Food Banks Team Up to Help Needy Customers Save
Con Edison has provided food banks in New York City and Westchester County with 250,000 high-efficiency lightbulbs for distribution to residential customers.
The Food Bank For New York City received 37,500 four-packs of bulbs and Feeding Westchester – the food bank that serves Westchester - received 25,000 four-packs. The food banks will work with affiliated organizations to distribute the packs to Con Edison residential customers who meet income guidelines.
The light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs will save an estimated 8,875 megawatt hours of power per year. That would prevent more than 6,250 tons of greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere, the equivalent of taking 1,375 cars off the road. LEDs last an average of 15 years.
“We want all our customers to have the opportunity to participate in programs that save energy and money,” said Lisa DeVito, a section manager in Con Edison’s Energy Efficiency department. “Thanks to the great work of the Food Bank For New York City and Feeding Westchester, we are once again able to get high-efficiency LED bulbs into thousands of households and help these Con Edison customers reduce their electric usage and save on their monthly bills.”
“We are grateful to partner with Con Edison on this vital initiative to help reduce New Yorkers' monthly energy bills,” said Francisco Tezen, chief development officer, Food Bank For New York City. “In expensive cities like New York, many families struggle to balance monthly expenses such as rent and utilities with costs like food. By promoting energy efficiency, we help more families afford to put food on the table.”
Workers from Con Edison and the Food Bank For New York City recently gathered at a warehouse in the Bronx to pack the bulbs.
Con Edison provided the bulbs for a second straight year as a pilot under its residential energy efficiency program. The company also has a wide range of energy efficiency programs, providing incentives to customers to make upgrades that will help them save energy and lower their bills.
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 $56 billion in assets. The utility provides electric, gas and steam service to customers in New York City and Westchester County, N.Y. For additional financial, operations and customer service information, visit www.conEd.com, for energy efficiency rebates and incentives www.coned.com/energyefficiency, and on Twitter and Facebook.