GE Lighting Launches National Energy Program ... Commits to Major Product Donation for America's Schools.

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CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 11, 2001

New, Breakthrough Online GE Lighting Auditor (GELA) Offers

Energy-Saving Options For Home, School and Business Environments

Today, GE Lighting announced a new national energy program, which will change the way America's schools, homes and businesses look at lighting energy use.

Thanks to a new online GE Lighting Auditor, called "GELA," students across America will be able to measure their school's lighting energy consumption ... and then do something about it. To kick off this effort, GE Lighting will retrofit the Vanguard Middle School, located in the Compton School District in Los Angeles, CA with energy-efficient light bulbs and ballasts. The future energy savings have already been calculated by Compton students using the new GELA online tool.

"Rising energy costs aren't only affecting businesses and homeowners -- it's really taking a toll on schools across America," said Joe Oberle, GE Lighting's General Manager, Technology. "Due to lack of awareness of new energy efficient lighting technologies, our nation's schools are losing hundreds of thousands of dollars each year. With the new GE Lighting energy program and 'GELA' -- the new online lighting auditor tool, both administrators and students can learn about energy efficient products, and easily incorporate them into their schools and homes.

In the case of Compton's Vanguard Middle School, by simply changing the lighting from standard linear fluorescent T12s to new GE energy-efficient T8 Watt-Miser(R) Ultra products, the school will save more than $75,000 in energy over the life of the product -- equaling that of an average teacher's salary in America, books and other scholastic resources.

"We knew our energy costs were substantial, but when GE came to us and completed the lighting audit -- the outcome was surprising," commented Dr. Jesse L. Gonzales, Superintendent, Compton School District. "We were pleased to be selected as the kick-off school for GE Lighting's national energy campaign ... and the resulting tens of thousands in savings will provide a number of benefits for our students in the upcoming school year."

GELA -- which will be available online later this fall -- was developed as a resource for three primary audiences -- schools, homes and businesses. By simply entering the number of each type of light bulb in any home, school or business facility, GELA will provide three important facts related to their lighting:

1. The dollars currently being spent on energy;

2. The total dollars that could be saved by using

energy-efficient products;

3. Which energy-efficient, replacement light bulbs should be

used.

"GELA will not only reinforce the lessons the students are learning about energy efficiency, but it will also show home and business owners the variety of new energy-efficient lighting products," said Joel Hutt, GE Lighting's General Manager, e-Marketing. "Many consumers are astonished when they realize that by changing just one light bulb from a standard incandescent to a compact fluorescent light bulb, they could save $26 to $86 on their energy bill over the life of that product."

For the next important phase of the national campaign, GE Lighting will donate these same energy efficient products to select schools across the country that submit GELA relamp projects based on actual classroom work. "Bottom line, the students can help their schools, and their communities, 'by doing the math' ... and using GELA to identify energy saving lighting solutions for their schools," Hutt continued.

To further reach students and educators, GE Lighting has partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy's 'Energy Smart Schools' Program, and in November will launch an Energy Lessons Teaching Unit -- an ideal curriculum supplement to existing 6th grade energy science lessons. The interactive unit will be available online and include lighting history and technology, as well as homework projects and recommendations on how to incorporate GELA into the classroom.

"The lighting energy our school will save will provide our students with additional real-world examples that can enhance their learning experience ... it will be a great lesson for us all," said Bettye Mctier, a science teacher with Vanguard Middle School. "The GE energy program provides a true, hands-on learning experience in science and technology that is relevant to both students and teachers alike."

Partners in the Vanguard Middle School retrofit include Viron Energy Services and Sun Industries.

For more information on GE Lighting's new energy program or the full range of energy efficient products, visit the company's Web site at www.GELighting.com.

One of the General Electric Company's major businesses (NYSE:GE), GE Lighting is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. GE Lighting is a recognized leader in light bulb technology, manufacturing and marketing in the global lighting industry as well, with operations in North America, South America, Europe and Asia. Today, the company manufactures approximately 7,000 various light bulb products for commercial, industrial and consumer applications.

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