The CITGO Lake Charles Manufacturing Complex, in partnership with Entergy, the local electricity provider, launched the local CITGO-Venezuela Energy Efficient Lighting Program on July 31 at the Lake Charles Civic Center in Lake Charles, La.
More than 250 senior citizens attended the event to learn more about energy conservation and 116 households qualified for the program. Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), t-shirts, bags and literature were distributed and Entergy provided lunch, an entertaining band and a host of their own booths with information about conserving energy. The Calcasieu Council on Aging was present to guide the seniors through the activities and members of Team CITGO helped participants with their applications.
The Energy Efficient Lighting Program is being implemented in 11 cities in the United States this summer, including the communities of Houston and Corpus Christi, Texas, Lemont, Ill., as well as Lake Charles, where our headquarters and refineries operate. It is a logical outgrowth of the CITGO-Venezuela Heating Oil Program, but is also based on successful efforts in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela through the Mission Energy Revolution. This social development program has been helping low-income households there reduce their energy use and learn more about energy efficiency since 2006.
Other cities that are part of the program are Boston, Mass., Philadelphia, Pa., New York, N.Y., Washington, D.C., Milwaukee and Madison, Wis., and Minneapolis, Minn.
It is estimated that the program will save the recipients $14.9 million and cut their energy use by 165 million kilowatt-hours during the life of the energy-efficient light bulbs. Approximately 460,000 of the light bulbs will be distributed to approximately 23,000 households.
The goal of the pilot program in Lake Charles is to provide CFLs and information about saving energy and money to 1,000 low- to moderate-income households in Calcasieu Parish. The next event is scheduled for Aug. 12 at a low income apartment complex in Lake Charles with a goal of helping approximately 200 households.
About 25 percent of the average home's electricity bill is for lighting. Although CFLs cost more than regular incandescent bulbs, money is actually saved in the long run. These bulbs last 10 times longer and use 75 percent less electricity than an incandescent bulb. This program will help families in southwest Louisiana reduce their energy use and learn more about energy efficiency.
