For Immediate Release | April 28, 2017
Tucson, Ariz. –Tucson Electric Power (TEP) will donate 125 shade trees to local schools for today’s Arbor Day holiday to help commemorate the company’s 125th anniversary.
The donations will give students an opportunity to be good stewards of the environment while learning how trees can help conserve energy and reduce the effects of urban heat islands by shading buildings, streets and cars. Trees also help control storm water runoff, soil erosion and wind, and they improve air quality while creating habitat for wildlife. TEP continues to build a cleaner, more sustainable energy future for our community by expanding renewable resources giving customers new energy options and investing in innovative, reliable new technologies.
Nearly 80 Chinese Elm, Netleaf Hackberry and Fern of the Desert varieties will be delivered today for planting later at schools in seven local districts that include:
- Amphitheater Public Schools: Amphitheater High School, 125 W. Yavapai Road
- Catalina Foothills: Valley View Early Learning Center, 3435 E. Sunrise Drive
- Marana: DeGrazia Elementary, 5051 W. Overton Road
- Sahuarita: Sahuarita Primary School, 350 W. Sahuarita Road
- Sunnyside: Santa Clara Elementary, 6910 S. Santa Clara Ave.
- Tanque Verde: Tanque Verde Elementary School, 2600 N. Fennimore Ave.
- Vail: Vail Innovation Center, 10775 E. Mary Ann Cleveland Way
The remaining trees are available to eligible schools. Applications are available by calling (520) 917-8742.
TEP has given away more than 1,000 free shade trees at springtime community events this year through its Trees for You program, which enables residential customers to purchase up to three native and low-water trees per year for just $5 each. Discounted trees also are available to commercial customers. Customers can order trees by logging in to My Account at tep.com. Civano Nursery provides all trees and operates a “tree care hotline” for participants who need planting advice and guidance.
Trees for You is one of several energy efficiency programs that help customers save energy while producing substantial environmental benefits for the community. These energy savings help TEP work toward the goals in Arizona’s Energy Efficiency Standard, which calls on utilities to achieve cumulative energy savings of 22 percent by 2020. Customers participating in TEP’s EE programs have saved more than 1 million megawatt-hours (MWh), enough energy to power more than 100,000 homes for a year.
TEP provides safe, reliable electric service to nearly 420,000 customers in Southern Arizona. The company, founded in 1892, is commemorating its 125th anniversary this year through various community service initiatives. For more information, visit tep.com. TEP and its parent company, UNS Energy, are subsidiaries of Fortis Inc., which owns utilities that serve more than 3 million customers across Canada and in the United States and the Caribbean. To learn more, visit fortisinc.com.
News Media Contact: Joseph Barrios, (520) 884-3725, jbarrios@tep.com
