For the second year in a row, Granite is teaming up with Central Houston, City of Houston, and the Greater Houston Partnership for LightsOutHouston.

LightsOutHouston is a commitment to energy efficiency and includes wide participation by Houston area building managers, owners and tenants. The goal is to establish a sustained reduction in the use of non-essential electricity in commercial buildings by turning off the lights.

Last year, participation totaled nearly 105 million square feet, which equates to more than $67,580 in electric bill savings by participants for that weekend alone. If participants continue their efforts in reducing unnecessary lighting, it can save a total of over $8 million dollars annually in lower energy bills.

All Greater Houston area class A, B, and C commercial buildings will be participating in this event by turning off the lights on Friday, April 24, 2009 beginning at 10:00 P.M. and running through the weekend, capping an end to Earth Week.   This effort will be coordinated with our janitorial and security staff.

We are committed to making Houston the Energy Conservation Capital. Last year’s effort helped avoid 43,000 tons of CO2, which is equal to removing 7,500 passenger vehicles off the road. The electricity saved is enough to power 4,600 average Texas homes for one year.