​BALTIMORE (June 12, 2018) – BGE, in support of EmPOWER Maryland, is providing 500,000 ENERGY STAR certified LED light bulbs to the Maryland Food Bank in 2018 for distribution to food pantry customers. This initiative is part of a three-year plan to donate 1.5 million LEDs to income-eligible customers across the BGE service area. Food pantry clients will receive the energy efficient bulbs throughout the year to help reduce their energy usage and costs - freeing up resources for life's other necessities. 

"BGE's partnership with the Maryland Food Bank will give customers access to valuable resources, including information about energy saving programs BGE offers through EmPOWER Maryland," said Alexander Núñez, senior vice president of regulatory and external affairs for BGE. "The LEDs donated this year will save BGE customers more than $1.8 million in energy costs annually and more than $26 million over the lifetime of the LEDs."

"Every month, too many Maryland families and individuals are forced to make tough choices between paying their bills and putting food on the table," said Maryland Food Bank President & CEO Carmen Del Guercio. "We're honored to have partners like BGE that find innovative ways to support our mission, because even small actions––providing access to more efficient lighting--can help a family that is struggling to make ends meet." 

The donation supports EmPOWER Maryland and is part of BGE's Smart Energy Savers Program which, in addition to many other offerings, provides discounts on LEDs through participating retailers to help customers reduce energy usage, save money, and protect the environment. Since 2009, BGE has helped customers save more than 3.3 million megawatt-hours of electricity and provided $505 million in rebates to BGE customers.

The BGE Smart Energy Savers Program is a suite of programs that enable customers to control energy use, leading to more efficient use of electricity and lowering energy bills from where they otherwise would be. Collectively, the programs help contain the cost of energy and improve reliability. The programs also help to reduce peak demand and slow the growth in energy consumption to lessen the need for more power plants. BGE offers energy-saving solutions for renters, homeowners, large and small business customers, nonprofits and institutional customers. EmPOWER Maryland programs are funded by a charge on your energy bill. EmPOWER programs can help you reduce your energy consumption and save you money.  Go to BGESmartEnergy.com to learn more about EmPOWER and how you can participate.

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BGE, founded in 1816 as the nation's first gas utility and headquartered in Baltimore, is Maryland's largest natural gas and electric utility. The company's approximately 3,200 employees are committed to safe and reliable power delivery to more than 1.25 million electric customers and nearly 675,000 natural gas customers in central Maryland, as well as enhanced energy management, conservation, environmental stewardship and community assistance. J.D. Power's 2017 Electric Utility Business Customer Satisfaction Study^SM ranked BGE highest in customer satisfaction with business electric service in the east among large utilities. The company also has an estimated annual economic impact of $5 billion of output in its service area, supporting more than 9,500 local jobs and producing $923 million in labor income. BGE is a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), the nation's leading competitive energy provider. Like us onFacebook and follow us onTwitter, YouTube  andFlickr.

About the Maryland Food Bank

The Maryland Food Bank is a nonprofit hunger-relief organization, leading the movement to end hunger throughout Maryland. For nearly 40 years, the Maryland Food Bank has partnered with communities across the state to distribute food to individuals and families in need. Through carefully-crafted programs, the food bank aims to meet the immediate needs of Marylanders while simultaneously working to find long term ways to reduce hunger statewide. Currently distributing more than 102,000 meals per day - nearly 37 million meals annually - the Maryland Food Bank will continue to expand its efforts until hunger ends. To learn more about the Maryland Food Bank, visit www.mdfoodbank.org.