Unitil Donates $50,000 to Local Museum

Unitil Corporation of Hampton has made a $50,000 donation to the Imagine.Build.Grow Campaign for the Children's Museum of New Hampshire. With this leadership gift, Unitil has become the museum's Green Champion for its role in supporting the museum's efforts to use energy and materials in environmentally responsible ways, in both the building of the museum and its daily operations.

We are so grateful to Unitil for this generous donation to our Capital Campaign, said Denise Doleac, director of The Children's Museum of New Hampshire. Unitil has been a long-time friend of the museum and we are happy to have their support as we work to make our new location an green' as possible. We want to set a creative and responsible example for children and adults to consider the environment in their actions and decisions.

The Children's Museum of New Hampshire reaches out every day to touch young minds and hearts with knowledge and inspiration about the world around us, said Bob Schoenberger, Unitil's chairman and CEO. Unitil and the Children's Museum are natural partners in teaching children about making and using energy wisely to achieve an efficient, affordable and sustainable energy future.

The Children's Museum of New Hampshire was designed in accordance with Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) guidelines created by the US Green Building Council for sustainable design. In coming months, visitors will become more aware of these efforts as the museum spotlights renewable and reusable materials and other responsible practices with signage, graphics and hands-on elements throughout the building. Indeed, the museum building itself will become an exhibit on sustainability, encouraging children and adults to become environmental stewards.

Previously blocked windows on the south side of the building were uncovered during construction and replace with new energy-efficient glazing. The clerestory opening above Build It, Fly It and the full bank of windows along the back also bring more daylight and ventilation into the main exhibit space. In the restrooms, water-saving fixtures are in place, and energy-efficient lighting and appliances are installed throughout. The building's original wood flooring was refinished rather than replaced, and wood flooring squares in the Museum Shop and offices were repurposed from a mill in Manchester. In fact, the repurposing of the existing Butterfield Gym building is a green practice in itself.

About Unitil Corporation (www.unitil.com)

Unitil Corporation ("Unitil") is a public utility holding company headquartered in Hampton, New Hampshire. Unitil serves 115,000 retail customers through subsidiaries providing electric distribution service in New Hampshire, electric and natural gas distribution service in Massachusetts and energy brokering services throughout the northeast. In February Unitil announced that it would acquire Granite State Gas Transmission and Northern Utilities, providing natural gas distribution service to 53,000 customers in Maine and New Hampshire, from its current parent company, NiSource. Unitil expects this transaction to close in the fourth quarter of 2008.