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For 10 years, Virginia Natural Gas has been helping customers become more energy efficient

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Sept. 10, 2019 – Virginia Natural Gas (VNG) knows that being a leader in the natural gas industry means making significant investments of our time, energy and resources to support and improve our communities and the environment. That’s why this summer, VNG introduced an updated and comprehensive Energy Efficiency Program aimed at helping customers save money on energy bills while helping to protect the environment.

For the past 10 years, Virginia Natural Gas has helped customers save on energy consumption through low-cost or no-cost solutions and through rebate programs on energy-efficient appliances and equipment.

“Our customers have learned through the Energy Efficiency Program that being more energy-efficient can be as simple as changing small behaviors with no-cost or low-cost changes or by taking advantage of rebates to replace older, less efficient equipment with high-efficiency natural gas equipment,” said Tyler Lake, manager, State Regulatory Affairs.

While customers have been participating in the program for the past 10 years to better manage their energy use and save money, in the past three years alone, more than 33,000 Virginia Natural Gas customers have taken advantage of FREE online home energy audits and effective energy solutions offered by the gas company. Also, more than 24,000 have used rebates for the purchase and installation of new, energy-efficient natural gas equipment.

And in 2018, the more than 4,000 customers that participated in energy-efficiency programs saved nearly 120,000 therms of natural gas. In simple terms, that’s the amount of energy needed to charge 80 million cellphones.

“We're delighted that so many of our customers are engaged in programs and services designed to make energy more affordable,” added Lake.

Formerly known as energySMART, the newly-launched Energy Efficiency Program is available to VNG residential natural gas customers. To get started, customers complete the FREE and easy online home energy audit in as little as seven minutes to receive a comprehensive report that includes no-cost or low-cost recommendations for saving energy in their home.

Once customers complete the energy audit, they can request to receive a FREE energy-savings kit in the mail. The kit includes easy to install items such as a shrink-fit window kit, a 12-pack of outlet and switch plate foam gasket draft sealers, and a closed-cell foam tape weatherstrip. These products are designed to help heat and cool their home more efficiently which helps them save money and reduce their carbon footprint

In addition to the FREE online home energy audit, the Virginia Natural Gas Energy Efficiency Program also offers money-saving rebates on the purchase and installation of new, qualifying energy-efficient natural gas equipment. Replacing older natural gas appliances with new, energy-efficient models is one way to reduce the impact on the environment, with new natural gas appliances wasting much less energy than appliances manufactured just 10 years ago.

These rebates help cover the cost of energy-efficient equipment, allowing customers to make the right choice for their wallet and the planet. A rebate application is available on the website at virginianaturalgas.com/rebates.

Program rebates include:

  • $50 rebate on the purchase and installation of a Wi-Fi enabled qualifying "smart" thermostat.
  • $70 rebate on the purchase and installation of a tank-style natural gas water heater, sized 55 gallons or less, with an energy factor of 0.67 or greater².
  • $250 incentive toward the purchase and installation of a natural gas furnace with 90% AFUE¹ or greater.

For more ways to save, or to take the audit, visit virginianaturalgas.com/energyefficiency.

¹ AFUE (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency): The most widely used measure of a furnace's heating efficiency, AFUE measures the amount of heat actually delivered compared to the amount of fuel supplied to the furnace. A furnace that has an 80% AFUE rating converts 80% of the fuel to heat. The other 20% is lost out of the chimney.

² Energy Factor (EF): An energy factor is a metric used to rate and compare the energy conversion efficiency of residential appliances and equipment.



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About Virginia Natural Gas
Virginia Natural Gas is one of four natural gas distribution companies of Southern Company Gas, a wholly owned subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO). Virginia Natural Gas provides natural gas service to nearly 300,000 customers in southeast Virginia. Virginia Natural Gas has been recognized as one of the safest, most reliable and customer-focused natural gas service providers and is consistently ranked in the top quartile for customer satisfaction by J.D. Power and Associates. In 2018, Virginia Natural Gas was named Local Distribution Company of the Year by the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy and the Virginia Oil and Gas Association for the third consecutive year. For more information, visit virginianaturalgas.com and connect with the company on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

About Southern Company Gas
Southern Company Gas is a wholly owned subsidiary of Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE:SO), America’s premier energy company. Southern Company Gas serves approximately 4.2 million natural gas utility customers through its regulated distribution companies in four states and approximately 700,000 retail customers through its companies that market natural gas. Other nonutility businesses include investments in interstate pipelines, asset management for natural gas wholesale customers and ownership and operation of natural gas storage facilities. For more information, visit southerncompanygas.com.

Media Contact:
Rick DelaHaya
o: 757.616.7510 | c: 757.323.7366 | rdelahay@southernco.comPress Release Text