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Community College of Rhode Island
Energy savings seminars are a bright idea for consumers
This month, the Community College of Rhode Island teamed with the RI Governor’s Office to help take a little chill from the air. National Grid, New England Gas Company, the Oil Heat Institute and the Rhode Island State Energy Office joined CCRI to offer free public seminars on energy conservation techniques at all four CCRI campuses.
During the seminar, panelists from the energy industry discussed how homeowners, renters and contractors can eliminate heat loss and improve efficiency, by weatherizing windows, using programmable thermostats, and adopting energy-efficient lighting and appliances. Several give-aways, including Honeywell thermostats, energy-efficient lightbulbs, and gift certificates for home improvement, were awarded as door prizes.
“Increasing the energy efficiency of our homes is an important way that all of us can reduce our energy costs,” said Governor Carcieri. "This set of seminars will go a long way toward helping families save real energy dollars that they can put to use right now,” added Andrew Dzykewicz, Chief Energy Advisor to the Governor.
These free seminars were the latest initiative to come from the newly restructured State Energy Office. In January, RI Governor Donald L. Carcieri appointed Dzykewicz to oversee the energy office and to launch a multi-faceted campaign designed to expand energy resources, reduce energy costs and promote conservation. Dzykewicz has also served as senior project manager at the RI Economic Development Corporation, where he has focused on energy issues.
The Community College of Rhode Island brought to this initiative a growing expertise in the areas of solar energy and new building technologies, which have been the focus of several training programs recently developed by the CCRI Division for Lifelong Learning. The college is also investigating future training opportunities in the area of wind power.
