PR: Coupons for Energy Saving Bulbs

Contacts: Kimberly Spell or Patrick Muncie, NYC & Company, 212/484-1270Michael Clendenin, Con Edison, 212/460-4111

NEW YORK CITY AND CON EDISON ANNOUNCE DISTRIBUTION OF COUPONS FOR ENERGY SAVING GE COMPACT FLUORESCENT LIGHT BULBS

�Con Edison Customers in New York City Already Receiving Coupons in Residential Bills�

New York City (August 10, 2007)�NYC & Company, the City's official marketing and tourism organization, and Con Edison today announced that Con Edison customers in New York City, in collaboration with General Electric, have started receiving $1 coupons toward GE Energy Smart�, ENERGY STAR� qualified compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) with their August residential electric bills. The program is one of the key components of GreeNYC, the multimedia marketing and advertising environmental campaign of PlaNYC, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's 127 initiatives to reduce carbon emissions by 30% by the year 2030. GreeNYC was developed by NYC & Company, in cooperation with their corporate partners, and is intended to educate New Yorkers about the small steps they can take to reduce pollution and greenhouse gases, and create a more environmentally sustainable New York City."Changing the incandescent bulbs in your home or office to compact fluorescent light bulbs is one of the easiest and most effective steps New Yorkers can take to really make a difference," said Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. "With our dedicated corporate partners working together to make it easier to obtain these bulbs, we all can continue to take the steps necessary to reduce our carbon footprint and make New York City the world's first great sustainable city of the 21st century. I urge all New Yorkers to take advantage of this discount and switch to CFLs.""We are pleased to work with our corporate partners who are committed to carrying out the next step of this innovative advertising and marketing campaign," said NYC & Company CEO George Fertitta. "Partnerships like these are instrumental in order for us to educate New Yorkers on the role they can play to create a greener, greater New York City.""Con Edison's commitment to the environment is exemplified in the Energy Star-CFL program," said Lou Rana, president of Con Edison of New York, Inc. "As a company delivering energy to millions of New York City residents every day, using CFLs to save energy and reduce pollution makes sense for all of us.""GE and New York City have been partners since Thomas Edison powered up America's first central power plant on Pearl Street in 1882," said Lorraine Bolsinger, vice president of ecomagination at GE. "With this CFL partnership, we're excited to give New Yorkers the power to shed a new light on their City's energy-efficient future."Con Edison has worked closely with GE on the distribution of the coupons for the GE Energy Smart� bulbs, which began earlier this month. So far, nearly 1.25 million coupons have been sent to Con Edison New York City customers in their monthly statements, and a total of 2.4 million are expected to be mailed in statements to customers in the five boroughs by the end of August. For its part, the City of New York is offering the $1 coupon to download on nyc.gov, and they will also be distributed by the New York City Housing Authority, the New York City Department of Housing and Preservation Development and the Council on the Environment of New York City.The goal of this coupon is to assist consumers with the cost of CFLs, which, although more expensive than traditional incandescent light bulbs, last up to ten times longer. The GE Energy Smart�, ENERGY STAR� qualified CFLs use about 75% less energy than a traditional incandescent.NYC & Company served as the creative force behind the GreeNYC campaign, developing the creative, eye-catching "Small Steps, Big Strides" advertisements currently running on television stations. In addition to the television advertisements, outdoor media such as street-pole banners and bus-stop shelters highlighting "Small Steps, Big Strides" can currently be found citywide, due to the support of Bank of America, the leading corporate partner of the campaign. As the campaign continues to expand, radio advertisements focusing on the importance of CFLs have also been created and will run on stations throughout August and September.For more information visit nyc.gov/greenyc.

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NYC & Company is the official marketing, tourism and partnership organization for the City of New York, dedicated to maximizing travel and tourism opportunities throughout the five boroughs, building economic prosperity and spreading the positive image of New York City worldwide.