On Tuesday, at the Linden House in Chicago, CITGO Petroleum Corporation President and CEO Nelson P. Martinez was joined by 4th District Illinois State Representative Cynthia Soto to launch the fourth edition of the CITGO-Venezuela Energy Efficient Lighting Program (EELP), which will provide 625,000 compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs to families in 21 US cities this year.

“At CITGO, in alignment with the social development principles of the CITGO shareholder, Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), we make it our business to provide meaningful social responsibility programs in the communities we serve and beyond”, said CITGO President and CEO, Nelson P. Martinez. “The CITGO-Venezuela EELP is an important program that not only helps low-income households save on their energy costs during the most expensive season, but helps protect the environment we all share”.

The CITGO-Venezuela Energy Efficient Lighting Program is a social investment initiative that began as a pilot program in 2008. Considering the life cycle of the more than 1.9 million CFL bulbs distributed since the program’s inception, the CITGO-Venezuela EELP has helped save more than $75 million in energy costs for more than 175,000 families and reduced energy consumption by more than 800 million kilowatt hours.

The 2013 CITGO-Venezuela EELP is expected to help approximately 62,500 low-income households conserve energy. And over their lifetime, the CFLs distributed this year will save almost $29 million in energy costs, nearly 303 million kilowatt hours and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 466 million pounds; equivalent to removing close to 42,000 cars from the road.

The light bulbs will be distributed through community action groups in 21 cities across the CITGO footprint: Houston and Corpus Christi, Texas; Joliet and Chicago, Ill.; Lake Charles and New Orleans, La.; Atlanta, Ga.; Birmingham and Mobile, Ala.; Greensboro, N.C.; Spartanburg, S.C.; Jackson, Miss.; Little Rock, Ark.; Jacksonville and Kissimmee, Fla.; Green Bay and Milwaukee, Wis.; Knoxville, Tenn.; Bronx, N.Y.; Richmond, Va., and Washington, D.C.

Along with the CFL bulbs, program beneficiaries will receive educational brochures about energy efficiency conservation, as well as detailed information on how to properly dispose of old CFLs.

The CITGO-Venezuela Energy Efficient Lighting Program is just one of the ways CITGO gives back to the communities in which it, and its network of locally owned CITGO stations, operates.

On average, the percentage of revenue CITGO invests in social programs has been five times more than many larger, vertically-integrated competing global brands. This investment helps CITGO ease the burden of many families across the country through programs such as the CITGO-Venezuela Heating Oil Program, its Fueling Education campaign, the 27- year long support of the Muscular Dystrophy Association, and many others.

In addition, CITGO employees and those at nearly 6,000 local independently owned and operated CITGO branded stations provide thousands of volunteer hours and millions of dollars to help organizations in their own communities.