Month: March 2025

• Customers can earn up to $141 in annual bill credits for enrolling select appliances in the EnergyWise® Home program
• Additional benefits include helping maintain steady rates for all customers and preserving Florida’s natural resources

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., March 27, 2025 /3BL/ – With the summer months and sweltering temperatures quickly approaching, Duke Energy Florida is highlighting EnergyWise Home, a voluntary program that rewards customers with up to $141 in annual bill credits for enrolling select appliances – central air conditioning units, electric water heaters and/or pool pumps – and allowing the company to temporarily cycle those appliances off during periods of high electricity demand.

Participation in the EnergyWise Home program helps maintain steady rates for all Duke Energy Florida customers, while also preserving the state’s natural resources. By reducing the strain on the electric system during times of peak energy usage, the company can avoid purchasing power on the open market, which tends to be more expensive, and using older, less efficient power plants that are costlier to operate. Additionally, it delays the need to build new power plants and transmission lines.

“The EnergyWise Home program is one of the many tools we have in our energy efficiency toolbox,” said Melissa Seixas, Duke Energy Florida state president. “It’s an easy, effective way for our customers to lower their electric bills and help meet their communities’ – and Florida’s – considerable energy needs.”

Duke Energy Florida uses a small device, installed at no charge to the customer, to cycle off appliances enrolled in EnergyWise Home. Most events occur on weekdays, rather than weekends or holidays, and start with electric water heaters and pool pumps, which can be cycled off for up to five hours. Central air conditioning units are the last to be cycled off – up to 16.5 minutes every 30 minutes – and are rarely impacted.

Currently, approximately 430,000 Duke Energy Florida customers across the state participate in the EnergyWise Home program. They receive credits prorated according to their electricity usage; however, credits are issued any time their usage exceeds 600 kilowatt-hours, even when no interruptions are experienced.

To learn more about EnergyWise Home and/or enroll in the program, please click here and/or call 888.282.9757.

For a range of energy efficiency measures and tips that can also help lower electricity bills, please visit duke-energy.com/SeasonalSavings.

Duke Energy Florida

Duke Energy Florida, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, owns 12,300 megawatts of energy capacity, supplying electricity to 2 million residential, commercial and industrial customers across a 13,000-square-mile service area in Florida.

Duke Energy

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America’s largest energy holding companies. The company’s electric utilities serve 8.4 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 54,800 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas utilities serve 1.7 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky.

Duke Energy is executing an ambitious energy transition, keeping customer reliability and value at the forefront as it builds a smarter energy future. The company is investing in major electric grid upgrades and cleaner generation, including natural gas, nuclear, renewables and energy storage.

More information is available at duke-energy.com and the Duke Energy News Center. Follow Duke Energy on X, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook, and visit illumination for stories about the people and innovations powering our energy transition.

Contact: Aly Raschid 
24-Hour: 800.559.3853 
X: @DE_AlyRaschid

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The following is an excerpt from our FY24 Purpose Report, celebrating 40 years of impact at Cisco. Data and metrics are reflective of Cisco’s fiscal year 2024, ending on July 31, 2024.

Today, connectivity is no longer a form of aid; instead, it’s often necessary to even receive aid. Beneficiary registration, digital cash, relief benefits, and social service applications all require secure connectivity— and Cisco helps deliver this essential need.

Cisco Crisis Response (CCR) is a leader in the private sector in responding to humanitarian challenges and works directly with government agencies, humanitarian and emergency response organizations, and those affected by crises.

CCR’s support includes on-the-ground connectivity, collaboration solutions, and security solutions for both communities and support agencies. In addition, we provide training to help build preparedness, response capabilities, and long-term resilience to NGOs supporting crisis-affected communities. CCR also offers cash and technology donations to humanitarian nonprofit partners, as well as pro bono consulting on network design and emergency connectivity solutions.

Spotlight On: Powering Communications on the Ground 

Cisco’s Network Emergency Responsible Vehicles (NERVs) provide fast and secure communications when existing communications may be disrupted or degraded. Offered free of charge, onboard NERV features include: fully redundant Cisco Meraki networking components for mission-critical communications; hyperconverged Cisco UCS compute cluster; Cisco Industrial IoT solutions for monitoring and control of vehicle systems; and a high capacity, rechargeable, hybrid power system that powers mission workloads and improves readiness, deployment longevity, and sustainability.

In fiscal 2024, CCR introduced new features to help reach, power, and connect even more communities in need. This includes Line-of-Sight 2.0 kits—comprised of Cisco’s Ultra Reliable Wireless Backhaul products—which extend the reach of the NERV to remote networks beyond the limitations of WiFi or when wired networks are not feasible. We also incorporated a Starlink High-Performance solution to add to the suite of backhaul options.

Take a virtual reality tour of the NERV and learn more about the set-up and features.

Here are a few examples of how our Cisco Crisis Response supported communities around the world in FY24: 

Combatting Homelessness

In 2018, Cisco committed US$50 million in grant funding over five years—the largest corporate donation of its kind at the time—to address homelessness in Santa Clara County, California. We have far exceeded our original commitment and geographic scope— investing US$130 million to address housing and homelessness globally. This includes US$22 million in product donations to homeless service organizations and supportive housing developments around the world. In Santa Clara County, Cisco’s flexible, private funding has leveraged over US$1.5 billion in public funding to create 3,500 homes, and our homelessness prevention efforts with Destination: Home have prevented 7,200 households from becoming homeless.

Learn more about Cisco’s efforts to address homelessness.

Responding to Wildfires in Maui 

In August 2023, wildfires broke out in Hawaii, prompting evacuations and causing widespread damage. The lack of connectivity left many unable to use credit or debit cards, access ATMs, or pay for essential items like gas, food, and medication. CCR mobilized to restore critical Internet, wireless, and phone connectivity for government agencies and nonprofits. We also launched an employee donation-matching disaster campaign that raised US$360,000 to support the American Red Cross, Americares, the Maui Food Bank, and World Central Kitchen.

Protecting Against Hackers 

Many nonprofits and NGOs lack enterprise-grade cybersecurity, giving bad actors the opportunity to either disrupt rescue operations or steal personal, financial, or government data. CCR and NetHope work together to boost nonprofits’ cybersecurity capabilities and provide the technology, cooperation, and expertise that will thwart hackers, even during vulnerable crisis situations. In addition to the world-class security that is built into every product, Cisco provides innovative mobile networking kits that are highly effective— and secure—in crisis situations. We also use AI to analyze network activity for malicious patterns that allow our response partners to identify and neutralize threats faster, minimizing risk and protecting vulnerable populations’ data.

Read the full FY24 Purpose Report

To learn more about the progress we’re making to Power an Inclusive Future for All, visit our Cisco Purpose Reporting Hub.

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LINCOLN, Neb. March 27, 2025 /3BL/ – Arbor Day Carbon, a subsidiary of the Arbor Day Foundation, has been honored with ACR’s 2025 Commitment to Quality Award in recognition of its work in the voluntary carbon market.

“We believe the voluntary carbon market can have potentially planet-shaping impact, and fostering trust in the market is crucial to its success. That’s why our team sets the bar high for our standard of quality, ensuring all of our forestry carbon credit projects are designed and implemented with integrity,” said Chris Tointon, president of Arbor Day Carbon. “We are honored by this recognition of our work and we’re eager to continue playing a leading role in the market’s march toward greater quality and transparency.”

With 50 years of trees on its side, Arbor Day Carbon has a deep understanding of how to use trees to create tangible benefits for critical ecosystems and the people that steward them. As a team of market experts, Arbor Day Carbon has developed a rigorous vetting process to assess project developers and identify potential benefits and risks of project designs.

Arbor Day Carbon has retired more forestry carbon credits than any other nonprofit on the ACR, with over 1.6 million credits in all. The team has helped to plant and protect millions of trees in a range of locations, including the Mississippi River Alluvial Valley. In addition to the over 1.6 million ACR forestry carbon credits retired by Arbor Day Carbon, the organization has also transacted over 6.4 million more forestry carbon credits on leading global standards Verra, Plan Vivo, and Climate Action Reserve.

ACR is an internationally recognized carbon crediting program and has celebrated climate leaders at its annual Climate Impact Awards for more than 15 years. Arbor Day Carbon was awarded alongside Earth System Scientist Carlos Nobre, Duke University, Grupo Perú, and the Ministry of Environment of Perú.

About the Arbor Day Foundation 

The Arbor Day Foundation is a global nonprofit inspiring people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees. They foster a growing community of more than 1 million leaders, innovators, planters, and supporters united by their bold belief that a more hopeful future can be shaped through the power of trees. For more than 50 years, they’ve answered critical need with action, planting more than half a billion trees alongside their partners.

And this is only the beginning.

The Arbor Day Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit pursuing a future where all life flourishes through the power of trees. Learn more at arborday.org.

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