As Earth Day season officially kicks off, National Grid will participate in this year's "A Billion Acts of Green" movement by sponsoring 12 community events featuring more than 700 employee volunteers displaying the Power of Action by helping to revitalize their local communities.

These company sponsored events, along with a number of local Earth Day activities National Grid is participating in with local partners, directly support the company's efforts to help safeguard the global environment for future generations.

"An important test of any company is in the way it treats its environmental responsibilities every day of the year," said Tom King, President of National Grid USA. "Earth Day gives us a chance to celebrate our year-round stewardship by highlighting special community projects that go beyond our day-to-day commitment to the global environment."

Company sponsored events, which run through May 13, will be held in Albany, N.Y.; Syracuse, N.Y.; Buffalo, N.Y.; Staten Island, N.Y.; Long Island, N.Y.; Woonsocket, R.I.; Manchester, N.H.; Worcester, Mass.; Waltham, Mass.; and Washington, D.C. Local elected officials and community groups will join National Grid volunteers in cleaning up parks and beaches, constructing neighborhood gardens, planting trees, painting and rehabbing buildings and benches, and constructing fences.

National Grid volunteers will wear their Power of Action t-shirts, designed by elementary school students who participated in an Earth Day art contest sponsored by National Grid and the Green Education Foundation.

As part of the Power of Action t-shirt contest, hundreds of students from across New England and New York submitted designs meant to showcase their ideas on how people can work together to protect the planet. Ultimately, Nikolos Pinto from Windsor Hill School of Johnston, R.I. and Jackie Jenkins from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School of Utica, N.Y. were voted winners. The two finalists will receive a $250 cash award from National Grid. In addition, 75 Power of Action entries were showcased at the recent National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) annual convention.

"The creative messages we heard from the children who entered our contest was loud an clear, our young people want to work together for a planet with clean air, clean water and a sound environment for many generations to come," said Loretta Smith, Director US Corporate Citizenship for National Grid. "We were pleased to honor all the participants in the Power of Action art contest with a fun and engaging way for students to address our environmental challenges."

National Grid is an international energy delivery company. In the U.S., National Grid delivers electricity to approximately 3.3 million customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island, and manages the electricity network on Long Island under an agreement with the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA). It is the largest distributor of natural gas in the northeastern U.S., serving approximately 3.4 million customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island. National Grid also owns over 4,000 megawatts of contracted electricity generation that provides power to over one million LIPA customers.

National Grid

National Grid

National Grid (NYSE: NGG) is an electricity, natural gas, and clean energy delivery company serving more than 20 million people through our networks in New York and Massachusetts. National Grid is focused on building a path to a more affordable, reliable clean energy future through our fossil-free vision. National Grid is transforming our electricity and natural gas networks with smarter, cleaner, and more resilient energy solutions to meet the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

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