LOCAL SCHOOLS ENGAGE STUDENTS, FACULTY AND STAFF IN SCHOOL-WIDE EFFORT TO CONSERVE ENERGY AND LOWER UTILITY EXPENSES

Wall, NJ  –  The commitment to energy efficiency for a number of public school systems throughout Monmouth and Ocean counties has just been enhanced with the addition of an employee and student awareness program that targets the 10 to 20 percent of energy budgets attributable to human behavior. For some local area students, this means starting the school year with an energy-efficiency and conservation program of study with SEE The Light.

New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) is piloting SEE The Light, a behavior-based energy conservation education program from KCG Energy LLC, at no cost for municipalities and school districts within its service territory. SEE The Light (where SEE is an acronym for Save Energy Everyday) bundles Energy Toolkits with the necessary resources that organizations need to integrate employee and student engagement into their “green” initiatives.  Currently, there are 18 area schools and three municipalities that have signed on to implement this behavior-based education program, with the Township of Ocean School District, Monmouth

County, one of the most recent to take advantage of this free opportunity to cut its energy budget and reduce its carbon footprint.

“In an educational setting, every energy dollar saved is money that can be allocated to maintaining critical services for teachers and students,” says Anne-Marie Peracchio, director of conservation and clean energy at New Jersey Natural Gas. With the SEE The Light School Facilities Energy Toolkit, school systems can cut energy consumption throughout the facilities -- from the cafeteria to the classrooms. In fact, up to 30 percent of the energy used in most school buildings is wasted due to energy-inefficient work practices.

The SEE The Light School Facilities Energy Toolkit is an "energy manager” in a box, which contains everything K-12 administrators need to implement a simple, cost-effective energy awareness and efficiency program. Moreover, the energy toolkits will help the Township of Ocean and other participating school districts implement, promote and measure the results of their energy awareness programs.

Each SEE The Light Energy Toolkit includes employee education tools, customized promotional materials and benchmarking software. The Toolkits walk leaders step-by-step through a proven process for modifying behaviors, integrating energy-efficient best practices into daily operations and verifying reductions in energy usage.

SEE The Light takes a “whole facility” approach to reducing energy consumption, addressing energy waste in every school department - from the cafeteria to the classrooms to the physical plant.  “Employees and students aren’t deliberately wasting energy when they leave lights and equipment on, prop gym doors open, etc.,” said Denise Parlamas, president of the Township of Ocean Board of Education. “But we all need to become more aware of energy waste, understand its impact on our finances and then modify our behaviors to transform inefficient practices into energy-smart habits.”

The Township of Ocean School District will measure the success of its energy waste reduction program with the Toolkit’s proprietary benchmarking software, which captures current energy usage, tracks energy use reductions and successes and shares results. The software normalizes for weather and accounts for varying bill periods, giving schools and municipalities a true picture of energy waste reductions.

“Every dollar our school wastes on energy is a dollar not available for salaries, academics or student activities,” said Mrs. Parlamas. “By rallying students, faculty and staff to pitch in and stop the energy waste, we’re having a positive impact on our budget, taxpayers and the environment.”

Join the 18 participating schools (Shore Regional High School, West Long Branch; five schools of Ocean Township, Monmouth County; six elementary schools of Neptune and six Ocean County Vocational Technical Schools) and three participating municipalities (Washington Township, Morris County; South Toms River, Ocean County and Ocean Township, Monmouth County).  To learn how your school system and municipality can get involved in SEE The Light, contact Raquel Phillips, program specialist at New Jersey Natural Gas, at 732-378-4928 or rphillips@njng.com.

New Jersey Natural Gas
New Jersey Natural Gas is the principal subsidiary of New Jersey Resources, a Fortune 1000 company, that provides safe and reliable natural gas and renewable energy services, including transportation, distribution and asset management in states from the Gulf Coast to the New England regions, including the Mid-Continent region, the West Coast and Canada, while investing in and maintaining an extensive infrastructure to support future growth. With $3 billion in annual revenues, NJR safely and reliably operates and maintains 6,800 miles of natural gas transportation and distribution infrastructure to serve nearly half a million customers; develops and manages a diverse portfolio of 1.5 Bcf/day of firm transportation and over 62.1 Bcf of firm storage capacity; offers low carbon, clean energy solutions through its commercial and residential solar programs and provides appliance installation, repair and contract service to nearly 135,000 homes and businesses. Additionally, NJR holds investments in midstream assets through equity partnerships including Steckman Ridge and Iroquois. Through Conserve to Preserve®, NJR is helping customers save energy and money by promoting conservation and encouraging efficiency. For more information about NJR, visit www.njresources.com, “Like” us at Facebook.com/NewJerseyNaturalGas, follow us on Twitter @NJNaturalGas and download our free NJR investor relations app for iPad.

KCG Energy LLC
KCG Energy LLC specializes in delivering products for energy benchmarking and behavior-based energy efficiency improvement. The company was founded in 2009 as a division of Lexington MA-based Kilojolts Consulting Group, a consulting firm that applies leading-edge best practices and innovative engineering, financial and negotiation strategies to help clients improve operating efficiencies and reduce energy-related costs. KCG Energy’s products include the SEE The Light energy toolkit series and EnerCop energy benchmarking software. See The Light Energy Toolkits are available for 12 market segments, including food service, manufacturing, municipalities, schools, supermarkets, private clubs and banks. For more information, visit www.energytoolkits.com or contact info@energytoolkits.com.