Puget Sound Energy will receive a 2009 ENERGY STAR award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The EPA gives ENERGY STAR awards annually to organizations that have made outstanding contributions to protecting the environment through efforts to improve energy efficiency and reduce pollution.

PSE won the Partner of the Year award for Energy Efficiency Program Delivery. PSE’s winning program is the Washington-based utility’s Residential New Construction ENERGY STAR Lighting Program, which works with participating showrooms and distributors to provide point-of-sale incentives to home builders in its 11-county service area.

Builders receive the incentives for installing ENERGY STAR pin-based fixtures in new single family homes. In 2008, additional program outreach to builders, contractors, manufacturers, and new home buyers resulted in a upswing in participation, despite a 30 percent downturn in construction projects, demonstrating the value of energy efficiency as a means of economic stimulus.