Providence Takes the Rhode Island Energy Challenge

North Providence named an “Energy Champion” for its efforts in the efficiency program

The City of Providence is the latest community to participate in National Grid and non-profit SmartPower’s Rhode Island Energy Challenge: Find Your Four! energy efficiency campaign. At an event held on the Gaebe Commons at Johnson and Wales University Mayor Jorge Elorza congratulated North Providence Mayor Charles Lombardi for his successful completion of the program and vowed that his community would be the next to get 5% of residents to pledge to be more efficient. “Making Providence sustainable and our citizens more energy conscious is one of the priorities of my administration,” said Mayor Elorza. “Along with the launch of SustainPVD and our SustainPVD ambassador programs, we will encourage all our residents to find four ways to conserve energy in their homes, saving both energy and money. I congratulate Mayor Lombardi for his community’s efforts and look forward to reaching our goal and a successful program.”

At the same event, National Grid named the town of North Providence a “Rhode Island Energy Champion” after community organizations and city officials successfully mobilized over 5% of the city’s households to register for the Challenge and change their energy use behaviors.

“I’m proud of our community for stepping up and taking actions in the home to save energy,” said Mayor Lombardi. “Being a part of the energy solution is easy – and the Rhode Island Energy Challenge Find Your Four! makes it a lot fun!”

This is the 5th community to successfully complete the Rhode Island Energy Challenge: Find Your Four! campaign. In addition to the designation as an “Energy Champion”, North Providence is receiving a grant of $7500 from National Grid to help the community invest in further energy savings and street signs to commemorate the achievement. “The Find Your Four! campaign is a perfect example of National Grid’s commitment to energy efficiency as a step we can all take to help our environment while helping customer save on their energy bills,” said Timothy F. Horan, president of National Grid in Rhode Island. “We’re looking the day the city of Providence is awarded its designation as Energy Champion.”

“With North Providence we now have 5 Rhode Island Communities that are Champions,” said Brian F. Keane, President of SmartPower. “The momentum keeps building and Rhode Island keeps leading! And now with Providence joining the Challenge, it just gets more exciting!”