Vail Attends Energy Award Ceremony Recognizing Stafford Somers

WALLINGFORD – The towns of Somers and Stafford were recognized at Energize Connecticut’s Clean Energy Communities (CEC) awards. 148 municipalities throughout the state are part of the CEC, which is a program aimed at reducing energy usage and promotes renewable energy sources explained State Representative Kurt Vail (Somers/Stafford), who attended the award ceremony Wednesday.

“Cutting down our overall usage of energy and expanding infrastructure to utilize more renewable energy resources is a critical to preserving one of our state’s greatest resources – our green space,” stated Rep. Kurt Vail. “I am very proud that both towns, which comprise my district, are strong participants in the CEC program and have been recognized by their efforts, I want to extend my congratulations to Somers First Selectman, Lisa Pellegrini, and Stafford First Selectman, Richard Shuck on their respective achievements.”

According to the CEC program, the collaborative efforts of all participating cities and towns have saved more than 1.7 billion kilowatt-hours and 18.6 million ccf. This is representative of a savings of energy that 200,000 businesses and private homes would normally use over the course of an entire year.

Somers boasts a savings of 1.4 million kilowatt-hours equivalent to eliminating 710 tons of CO2, along with planting 176 acres of trees from Jan. 2010 through July 2015.

Stafford has planted 723 acres of trees and created a savings of 5.2 million kilowatt-hours, which is equal to keeping roughly 500 cars off of the road for one full year. This, again, occurred over a five year time span from Jan. 2010 through July 2015.

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