Farmingville, NY—April 25, 2007—The Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) presented the Town of Brookhaven with a $25,000 grant today to help train the inspectors who will implement the Town’s new ENERGY STAR Homes Law.  The law requires new homes built within Brookhaven to meet New York ENERGY STAR-Labeled Homes criteria.

Brookhaven was the first town on Long Island to adopt such a measure.  The Towns of Babylon, Oyster Bay and Riverhead have also implemented their own laws.  The Towns of East Hampton, Hempstead and Huntington have proposed laws under consideration.

“The best way to secure long-term energy savings in homes built on Long Island is to put energy efficient designs and techniques into their construction at the outset,” said LIPA CEO/President Richard M. Kessel.  “By adopting New York ENERGY STAR-Labeled Homes standards as the minimum criteria for new homes, Brookhaven is leading the way.  Now it’s time for all towns and cities on Long Island to do the same thing.

“The Towns of Babylon, Oyster Bay and Riverhead have already joined Brookhaven by adopting New York ENERGY STAR-Labeled Homes standards for new home construction, and several other towns have laws under consideration,” said Mr. Kessel.  “LIPA will provide training grants to any other town or city on Long Island that adopts an ENERGY STAR homes program similar to the one enacted by Brookhaven, as a way to encourage long-term energy efficiency island-wide.”

“I would like to thank Mr. Kessel and LIPA for the $25,000 grant to help the Town of Brookhaven train the inspectors that will be needed to ensure that new homes meet the ENERGY STAR home standards," said Supervisor Brian X. Foley.  "It reflects LIPA’s commitment to conservation efforts, and ENERGY STAR building standards are a cornerstone in the effort to promote effective energy conservation.  ENERGY STAR building standards can be a key part of the solution to one of the most serious threats facing our country—our reliance on oil, the pollution that dependence causes, and the enormous cost of fossil fuels, which will only increase.

“We’ve got to do more to make living on Long Island affordable and I want to thank LIPA for helping us in that effort,” said Supervisor Foley. “ENERGY STAR can save homeowners a great deal of money in energy costs and can cut pollution dramatically. Right here in Brookhaven Town, we need to find ways to cut energy costs and make home ownership more affordable for both our young people and our senior citizens. These ENERGY STAR standards can save homeowners a great deal of money by cutting energy costs long-term, and that will help keep families in Brookhaven Town.”

“The energy star resolution, which I am proud to have sponsored, is changing how houses are built not only in Brookhaven, but throughout the Island,” said Councilwoman Connie Kepert.  “That resolution changes ENERGY STAR from a voluntary program in which less than 1% of new homes meet, to a program which requires participation from all new construction.  ENERGY STAR, with its performance test, will insure that new homes meet energy code requirements, conserve on the consumption of fossil fuels, reduce greenhouse gases, and make Brookhaven a more affordable place to live.” 

 “Unlike some proposals to address global warming that require federal action, this local legislation is something that will have an immediate and significant beneficial impact,” said Neal Lewis, executive director of the Long Island Neighborhood Network.  “If all Long Island towns follow Brookhaven’s lead by enacting this law, then every year we will avoid producing 125,000 tons of greenhouse gases that cause global warming.  The offset of greenhouses gases from this law are equivalent to eliminating 24,000 cars from our roads,” Lewis concluded.

LIPA has committed to providing $25,000 grants to all other Long Island towns and cities if they adopt similar local laws by June of this year.  LIPA also committed to providing the Long Island Builders Institute (LIBI) with a $25,000 grant once six towns and/or cities adopted their own E-Star Homes laws.

The ENERGY STAR Homes program was developed by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and is available on Long Island through LIPA.  The program encourages home builders to implement the highest standards in energy efficiency measures and build homes that use up to 30 percent less energy compared to conventionally built homes.  This provides significant savings to homeowners on their energy bills over the short and long term.

LIPA has been fostering the adoption of ENERGY STAR Homes standards on Long Island as part of its Clean Energy Initiative (CEI), which is a 10-year, $355 million program designed to foster energy efficiency and the development and use of renewable alternative technologies such as solar, wind and geothermal. 
Brookhaven’s local law was advanced by Supervisor Brian X. Foley and Councilwoman Connie Kepert to require home builders to construct new homes in the town to ENERGY STAR standards.

In an effort to assist Brookhaven Town with developing a cadre of trained specialists who will be needed for this energy efficiency effort that will save the owners of E-Star-rated homes thousands of dollars in energy costs, LIPA is providing the Town with a $25,000 grant to help train the raters and inspectors that will be needed to ensure that new homes meet the E-Star home standards.

The New York ENERGY STAR Labeled Homes program is voluntary and works in close partnership with participating builders to increase the energy efficiency, safety, and quality of homes in New York State.  Built to higher design standards with closer attention to construction details, New York ENERGY STAR Labeled Homes incorporate proven building science practices and new technologies to strengthen insulation and air sealing properties, lower electrical consumption, and improve indoor air quality through proper ventilation strategies.  Each home must pass an evaluation by a participating certified Home Energy Rater.  This evaluation includes a plan review, computer-based energy analysis, and a number of diagnostic tests to verify the home’s performance.

LIPA, a non-profit municipal electric utility, owns the retail electric Transmission and Distribution System on Long Island and provides electric service to more than 1.1 million customers in Nassau and Suffolk counties and the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens.  LIPA is the 3rd largest municipal electric utility in the nation in terms of customers served and the 6th largest in terms of electricity delivered.  In 2006, LIPA outperformed all other overhead electric utilities in New York State in all three major reliability categories.  LIPA does not provide natural gas service or own any on-island generating assets.  More information about LIPA can be found online at:   www.lipower.org.