National Grid Makes Community Connection For Earth Day 2013

NEW YORK, April 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 600 National Grid employees will join forces with local communities to beautify parks and clean-up areas in need of attention all across the company's U.S. service area as part of Earth Day 2013.  The company and its employee volunteers will take part in a dozen local projects and events across Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island through the end of May.

"We always look forward to getting out and supporting Earth Day in the communities we live in and serve," said Tom King, president, National Grid USA. "From the largest to the smallest, these events have a lasting impact on our communities, and our employees who volunteer year after year."

National Grid employee volunteers across the three states will help with projects ranging from Hurricane Sandy reconstruction to work on neighborhood farms.  Tree planting, park clean-up, and walking trail maintenance are among the many projects getting attention.

Student T-shirt Design Contest

For the third year in a row, the company also sponsored an Earth Day t-shirt design contest in partnership with the Green Education Foundation. This year's theme for elementary school students was "How do I save energy?" 

Hundreds of drawings were submitted from schools across New England and New York showcasing ideas on how people can work together to protect the planet and selections were narrowed down to just four.  Thousands of National Grid employees then voted to determine the winners.

National Grid employee volunteers in New England will wear the winning t-shirt design submitted by Blair Zhou, a fifth grader from the Ohrenberger School in West Roxbury, Mass.  In New York, volunteers will wear the winning t-shirt design submitted by Madison Homer, a fourth grader from the Onondaga Nation School in Nedrow, NY.  Each contest finalist's school will receive a $250 cash award from National Grid to purchase school supplies.  Additionally, Blair Zhou will throw out the first pitch at the Red Sox Earth Day game at Fenway Park, Boston, on Monday, April 22, 2013.

"We take energy efficiency and environmental stewardship very seriously," King said.  "Contests like this are a terrific way to reinforce to everyone, particularly our youth, the importance of how each and every one of us can reduce our carbon footprint and take measures that will make our lives a little greener."

NATIONAL GRID
National Grid (LSE: NG; NYSE:NGG) is an electricity and gas company that connects consumers to energy sources through its networks. The company is at the heart of one of the greatest challenges facing our society - to create new, sustainable energy solutions for the future and developing an energy system that underpins economic prosperity in the 21st century. National Grid holds a vital position at the center of the energy system and it 'joins everything up'.

In the northeast US, we connect more than seven million gas and electric customers to vital energy sources, essential for our modern lifestyles. In Great Britain, we run the gas and electricity systems that our society is built on, delivering gas and electricity across the country.

National Grid delivers electricity to approximately 3.3 million customers in Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island. It manages the electricity network on Long Island under an agreement with the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA), and owns over 4,000 megawatts of contracted electricity generation, providing power to over one million LIPA customers. It is the largest distributor of natural gas in the northeastern U.S., serving approximately 3.4 million customers in New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

For more information please visit our website: www.nationalgridus.com.

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SOURCE National Grid