For Earth Day, PSEG Long Island Bolsters Public Green Spaces, Helps Customers Save Up to $200,000 in Energy Use
Company concludes five days of Earth Week activities with pledge to hand out 1 million reusable shopping bags by Earth Day 2020
UNIONDALE, N.Y., April 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- In the week leading up to Earth Day, more than 500 PSEG Long Island employees came together across five towns on Long Island to beautify local green spaces, and reduce Long Island's carbon footprint by helping customers lower their overall electrical demand. When they finished, volunteers had distributed 20,000 LED lightbulbs with the potential to save customers up to $200,000 in energy costs over the next year. The company also pledged to give away 1 million reusable shopping bags by Earth Day 2020, helping to reduce the number of single-use plastic bags that can threaten ecosystems if not properly recycled.
"Next year is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, so over the next year, PSEG Long Island pledges to distribute 1 million reusable shopping bags so our customers can drastically cut back on plastic waste that can harm wildlife," said Daniel Eichhorn, president and COO of PSEG Long Island. "We are committed to providing our customers with greener energy, and to maintaining a strong presence in the communities where we live and work. From this Earth Day until next year, we'll continue to show our volunteer spirit and do our part to preserve the planet we all call home."
Starting on April 15, hundreds of PSEG Long Island volunteers poured into the City of Long Beach and the Towns of Oyster Bay, Huntington, Brookhaven and Islip. Employee volunteers planted trees, shrubs and flowers, laid down mulch and cleaned litter in local parks and green spaces, gave away energy efficient LED light bulbs, wildflower seed packets and reusable shopping bags. They also walked through business districts offering free lighting assessments to help save small business owners money and energy.
"I am fortunate that my employer, PSEG Long Island, allows me to volunteer in my own community where my family, friends, neighbors and I can enjoy the benefits," said Islip resident Danielle Vaupel, who volunteered to beautify Brookwood Hall Park in the Town of Islip.
"I'm proud to work for a company that wants to make a difference. PSEG Long Island isn't going to just one community. We are going to numerous communities so everyone can be involved in making an impact," said Regina Pizzonia, a Medford resident and PSEG Long Island employee who volunteered on Thursday in the Town of Brookhaven. "Earth Week is a time to give back to the earth. If we all did a little something every day, we wouldn't need an event to clean it up."
Protecting wildlife
PSEG Long Island strives to be environmentally friendly all year long. The long-endangered osprey is making a comeback on Long Island, and PSEG Long Island is committed to keeping them on the path to recovery. When crews discover osprey nests on top of utility poles, the company springs in to action to safely relocate them. The loose twigs of the nests and the birds' large wingspan can both create contact points with high-voltage electrical equipment, causing fires, outages, and injuring the animals.
So far this year, the energy company has relocated or elevated more than 20 osprey nests, working closely with state wildlife experts to ensure the work was completed before the raptors returned to raise their young. PSEG Long Island crews also sprang into action last year to provide extra insulation around the poles in Centerport where a pair of bald eagle fledglings were just beginning to test their flying skills.
Promoting energy-saving trees
A greener future for Long Island also means more trees. As it has for the past several years, PSEG Long Island proudly partnered with the Arbor Day Foundation and gave 1,000 of its customers a free tree to provide shade and wind protection for their homes. The Energy-Saving Trees program is designed to showcase how planting the right trees in the right locations can reduce utility bills up to 20 percent in the summer and promote ongoing system reliability. The 1,000 trees, which customers picked up on Saturday, April 13 at several PSEG Long Island office locations, are estimated to produce more than 1,531,357 kWh in energy savings within 20 years.
Serving the community
PSEG Long Island is committed to giving back to the people and communities it serves by actively supporting hundreds of local charity events each year through the company's Community Partnership Program. Last year, PSEG Long Island employees logged 26,000 service hours volunteering at 1,145 fundraising and community events to support more than 400 organizations. For more information on how PSEG Long Island supports the communities it serves, visit https://www.psegliny.com/inthecommunity/communitypartnership.
PSEG Long Island
PSEG Long Island operates the Long Island Power Authority's transmission and distribution system under a long-term contract. PSEG Long Island is a subsidiary of Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. (PSEG) (NYSE: PEG), a publicly traded diversified energy company.
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