Wall, N.J. - New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) announced it will bring the PowerSave Schools program to area schools to help students learn about and embrace energy efficiency and conservation in their academic environment. Moreover, it helps participating schools save money and energy through changes in behavior, operations and maintenance procedures and by encouraging the use of more energy-efficient equipment. Created by the Alliance to Save Energy (Alliance), the PowerSave Schools program empowers elementary, middle and high school students to embrace the benefits of energy efficiency.

To maximize effectiveness, NJNG is building on its existing relationship with Sustainable Jersey for Schools to offer this opportunity to schools within NJNG's service territory that are registered with Sustainable Jersey for Schools. These schools demonstrate a commitment to sustainability; and they will benefit from the complimentary programs of PowerSave Schools.

NJNG will fund all direct program costs for 15 selected schools registered with Sustainable Jersey for Schools, while the Alliance will implement the PowerSave Schools program - providing the tools and resources to ensure a successful program outcome. The Alliance will assign school a Local Project Leader to provide support and help establish and guide the students and staff, and implement energy efficiency projects. Moreover, participating schools will benefit from ongoing support, training workshops and a Road Map Guide, among other resources.

PowerSave Schools complements Conserve to Preserve™ (CTP), the umbrella for NJNG's commitment to environmental stewardship, providing customers with the tools and resources they need to make smart energy choices for the protection of the environment and natural resources. "PowerSave is a natural fit with our CTP efforts," said Anne-Marie Peracchio, director of conservation and energy policy at New Jersey Natural Gas. "By developing a framework for students to identify and prioritize measures and take significant steps to incorporate energy efficiency as a standard practice, we are helping to encourage the next generation of energy-efficient leaders."

Through the implementation of PowerSave Schools' activities, students gain practical and professional development experience by learning the skills needed to conduct an energy audit, analyze data, present results, share recommendations and train and educate their peers, school staff and community members about important energy-efficiency and environmental issues. At the end, students are empowered as change agents in promoting best energy practices.

"The Alliance is thrilled to work with New Jersey Natural Gas to bring energy-efficiency education to students in their territory," said Scott Thach, vice president of education for the Alliance to Save Energy. "We share their commitment to create a more sustainable environment in which our students can learn and lead. We've found educating students in energy literacy saves their districts between five and 15 percent in energy costs - in addition to creating the next generation of smart energy consumers, professionals and leaders."

PowerSave Schools will work directly with approximately 450 students in the select 15 schools within NJNG's service territory for one year, integrating Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) principles to promote energy literacy through lesson plans, activities and competitions. Students will use the school building as a learning lab to solve real world problems and generate culture change by making energy efficiency visible, important and practical.

As a founding sponsor of Sustainable Jersey for Schools, NJNG is collaborating with the organization to offer this unique opportunity to its registered public schools within NJNG's service territory. Sustainable Jersey for Schools will provide guidance on how to leverage PowerSave Schools components into Sustainable Jersey for Schools program points, facilitate the application process and establish the criteria for acceptance into the program.

"The PowerSave Schools program is another valuable opportunity available to schools registered with the Sustainable Jersey for Schools program," said Donna Drewes, co-director, Sustainable Jersey. "We're working with New Jersey Natural Gas and the Alliance to Save Energy to bring new benefits to our schools. The PowerSave Schools program will educate students about energy and energy efficiency while helping schools save money on energy costs."

The goal of PowerSave closely aligns with Sustainable Jersey for School's mission to energize New Jersey public schools, with the opportunity for students to connect with curricula in environmental and STEM education that can also serve as a tool for interactive lessons. Through training, grants and incentives, Sustainable Jersey for Schools helps schools develop sustainability programs that improve efficiency, cut waste and free up money for the classroom. The PowerSave activities are parallel to action items under Sustainable Jersey for Schools, with the opportunity for schools to earn more than 50 points toward certification while integrating student and faculty engagement that results in innovative energy efficiency projects and ideas for best practices from which other schools can learn.

For example, all schools participating in the PowerSave Schools program will receive free energy tracking to document progress in energy savings. At the end of the project, the energy tracking information will be adapted for the respective school's free energy benchmarking tool, ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager, earning participating schools a minimum of 10 points under the Energy Tracking and Management action in the Sustainable Jersey for Schools Program.

Sustainable Jersey registered schools are encouraged to submit an application prior to the August 28, 2015 deadline, with anticipated rollout of the program across selected participating schools in September. The program will continue throughout the school year. Interested schools can contact Kavitha Nambiar at knambiar@ase.org or 202-530-2208 for details. Schools can complete the application online; go to the Grants & Resources tab at sustainablejerseyschools.com and select Resource Opportunities.


About New Jersey Natural Gas

New Jersey Resources (NYSE: NJR) is a Fortune 1000 company that provides safe and reliable natural gas and clean energy services, including transportation, distribution and asset management. With annual revenues in excess of $3 billion, NJR is comprised of five primary businesses:

  • New Jersey Natural Gas is NJR's principal subsidiary that operates and maintains over 7,000 miles of natural gas transportation and distribution infrastructure to serve over half a million customers in New Jersey's Monmouth, Ocean and parts of Morris and Middlesex counties.
  • NJR Energy Services manages a diversified portfolio of natural gas transportation and storage assets and provides physical natural gas services to its customers across North America.
  • NJR Clean Energy Ventures invests in, owns and operates solar and onshore wind projects with a total capacity of over 130 megawatts, providing residential and commercial customers with low-carbon solutions.
  • NJR Midstream serves customers from local distributors and producers to electric generators and wholesale marketers through its equity ownership in a natural gas storage facility and a transportation pipeline, both of which are Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC-regulated investments.
  • NJR Home Services provides heating, central air conditioning, standby generators, solar and other indoor and outdoor comfort products to residential homes and businesses throughout New Jersey and serves approximately 117,000 service contract customers.

NJR and its nearly 1,000 employees are committed to helping customers save energy and money by promoting conservation and encouraging efficiency through Conserve to Preserve® and initiatives such as The SAVEGREEN Project® and The Sunlight Advantage®.

For more information about NJR:

Visit www.njresources.com.
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"Like" us on facebook.com/NewJerseyNaturalGas.
Download our free NJR investor relations app for iPad, iPhone and Android.


About Alliance to Save Energy

The Alliance to Save Energy, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, founded 38 years ago, has pursued the singular goal of promoting energy efficiency through programs and policies to achieve a healthier economy, cleaner environment and greater energy security. The Alliance is a leader in the field of energy efficiency and, for 27 years now, has worked with partners to deliver free-of-cost energy-efficiency education programs to schools and college campuses across the nation, through the PowerSave Schools and PowerSave Campus programs.

Since 1996, the PowerSave Schools program has empowered over 230,000 K-12 students and their teachers in over 2000 schools across the country to save energy in their schools. PowerSave students learn about energy and energy efficiency through standards-linked educational material, by engaging in hands-on projects, and using diagnostic tools to assess energy consumption and identify ways to conserve. By using their school buildings as learning laboratories, students tackle real world problems and generate behavior change, making energy efficiency visible and doable.

About Sustainable Jersey for Schools

Sustainable Jersey for Schools is a certification program for public schools in New Jersey. Launched in October 2014, Sustainable Jersey for Schools is a program of Sustainable Jersey, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that provides tools, training and financial incentives to support and reward schools as they pursue sustainability programs. Currently 95 school districts and 262 schools are participating in the program.

Sustainable Jersey for Schools is underwritten by the New Jersey School Boards Association, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) Clean Energy Program and the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA). Small Grants for Sustainable Jersey for Schools are underwritten by the PSEG Foundation, New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) and the New Jersey Department of Health. The Founding Sponsors are South Jersey Gas, New Jersey Natural Gas and NJM Insurance Group. The program supporters are the Foundation for Educational Administration and the Bayer Foundation. Program partners include: New Jersey School Boards Association (NJSBA), New Jersey Association of School Administrators (NJASA), New Jersey Association of School Business Officials (NJASBO), New Jersey Education Association (NJEA), New Jersey Parent Teacher Association (NJPTA), New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association (NJPSA), New Jersey School Buildings and Grounds Association (NJSBGA) and The Sustainability Institute at The College of New Jersey.

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