Veridian encourages customers to take The Power Pledge

AJAX, ON, Aug. 9 /CNW/ - Veridian Connections is urging residents and businesses in its service areas to commit to a few simple, meaningful conservation actions to lower energy use, avoid energy costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by taking The Power Pledge.

The conservation awareness initiative, developed by the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) and co-sponsored by WWF Canada, consists of an online pledge comprised of six actions that will help make a positive impact on the environment. Those who take the pledge will receive 20 AIR MILES reward miles. An additional 10 AIR MILES reward miles will be donated on their behalf to a participating charity of choice - providing a meaningful incentive for making a commitment to conserve energy.

"Energy conservation is an important way of addressing climate change, improving our local air quality, reducing energy use and avoiding energy costs," said Eryn Wishnowski, Veridian's Conservation Program Representative. "By taking The Power Pledge, residents and businesses are committing to simple and meaningful actions what will conserve electricity and have a positive impact on the environment."

The five month Power Pledge initiative culminates on August 11 with The Power Pledge Community Challenge - a friendly competition between Ontario communities to see which municipality achieves the highest percentage drop in electricity consumption. All Community Challenge participants will be ranked according to their respective results and the winner will be announced on August 16 at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) Annul Conference in Windsor.

The OPA's Power Pledge team has released the category leaders to date in each of the four participation categories. The Municipality of Clarington, one of Veridian's nine service areas, currently sits in fifth place in the 'Over 75,000' category with 1,000-plus pledges.

In 2009, the Community Challenge included communities representing 56 per cent of Ontarians. The Municipality of Sioux Lookout achieved the highest percentage of its residents taking the pledge, while the City of Kingston achieved the highest reduction in the province - achieving a 7.8 per cent drop in electricity consumption.

The Community Challenge is a collaboration of the OPA, the Electricity Distributors Association (EDA), the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) and their associated members, along with the City of Woodstock.

For more information on the Power Pledge program, visit www.powerpledge.ca or call 1-877-797-7534.

Veridian Connections Inc. safely and reliably delivers electricity to more than 112,000 customers in the Cities of Pickering and Belleville, the Towns of Ajax, Port Hope and Gravenhurst, and the communities of Uxbridge, Bowmanville, Newcastle, Orono, Port Perry, Beaverton, Sunderland and Cannington. Veridian Connections Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Veridian Corporation. The City of Pickering, the Town of Ajax, the Municipality of Clarington and the City of Belleville jointly own Veridian Corporation.

For further information: Chris Mace, Sales & PR Representative - Corporate Communications, Veridian Connections Inc., 905-427-9870, extension 2218