Central Maine Power Designated as an Environmental Champion
CMP News
Central Maine Power Company, 83 Edison Drive, Augusta, ME 04336 (207) 622-NEWS
Corporate Communications - corpcomm@cmpco.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 2, 2015
Central Maine Power Designated as an Environmental Champion
National study finds that customers value utility's environmental initiatives
AUGUSTA, Maine Central Maine Power Company (CMP), a subsidiary of Iberdrola USA, has been named an Environmental Champion by Cogent Reports, the syndicated research division of Market Strategies International. Cogent's designation, based on more than 25,000 consumer performance ratings for 125 leading utilities nationwide, ranks CMP among the top three electric utilities in the eastern U.S.
The designation honoring CMP came just weeks before more than 100 heads of government and thousands of others gathered in Paris for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The Environmental Champions were determined based on Environmental Dedication scores and rankings that reflect the extent to which consumers believe providers are supporting environmental causes, committed to environmentally friendly energy sources, encouraging green initiatives and offering tools to help consumers save energy.
These Environmental Champions are setting an example for peers in the industry on environmental dedication. This designation reflects a commitment to prioritizing environmental initiatives and serves as a reward from their customers for doing so, said Chris Oberle, senior vice president at Market Strategies International. We believe expanding the management of environmental efforts, improving outreach on environmental causes, and communication of renewable strategies will become increasingly important as utilities position themselves to effectively implement clean power initiatives.
This nationwide study confirms that customers value our efforts to provide great service while honoring our commitment to the environment, said Sara Burns, president and CEO of CMP. Protecting the environment is a big part of the mission we share with our parent company, Iberdrola, and we are proud of our record.
The Cogent study cited solar conversion as one type of environmental initiative of interest to consumers, and CMP has supported solar and other small-scale renewable generation since the late 1980s through its net energy billing program. The utility is now working with various stakeholders in a Maine Public Utilities Commission proceeding to develop a new process to fairly allocate the costs and benefits of distributed generation and create a platform for growth that would benefit all ratepayers.
CMP also has a long history of providing customers with information and tools to help them use electricity more efficiently. Customers with smart meters can now use Energy Manager, an on-line tool to view and download detailed usage data and better manage their energy consumption. Nearly 40,000 customers are enrolled in the program.
In October, Iberdrola USA signed the American Business Act on Climate Pledge, a component of President Barack Obama's Climate Action Plan. In signing the pledge, the company supports the Paris Climate Summit for a world-wide commitment toward reducing global carbon pollution and vows to reduce emissions, increase low-carbon investments, deploy more clean energy, and take other actions to build more sustainable businesses and tackle climate change. Earlier this year, Iberdrola USA pledged support to the Partnership for Energy Climate Resilience. In that agreement, utilities are examining how to ensure the reliability of the electric grid during extreme weather events.
Click here to see the news release from Cogent Reports.
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Media Contact:
Gail Rice
207.622.NEWS
About Central Maine Power Company (CMP): Central Maine Power Company, a subsidiary of Iberdrola USA, is Maine's largest electricity transmission and distribution utility. The company delivers about 9 billion kilowatt hours of electricity annually to more than 600,000 homes and businesses, representing about 80% of Maine's annual consumer sales of electricity. J.D. Power and Associates has ranked the company #1 in customer satisfaction seven times. For more information, visit www.cmpco.com.
About Iberdrola USA: Iberdrola USA is the U.S. subsidiary of global energy leader Iberdrola, S.A. The Iberdrola USA companies employ about 5,000 people with operations in 24 states from New England to the West Coast, providing electricity generation, transmission and distribution, natural gas storage and distribution, and energy services. For more information, please visit our website: www.iberdrolausa.com. Follow us on Twitter: @IberdrolaUSA