Hartford natural gas and electricity provider Northeast Utilities Inc. is the newest three-year sponsor of Connecticut FIRST, the state’s annual robotics competition.
NU obtained the title sponsorship in exchange for its Northeast Utilities Foundation pledging a $300,000 grant to fund the event through 2012.
The previous sponsor, United Technologies Corp., will sponsor the national First competition in Atlanta, and will continue to support the regional event and student teams nationwide.
For the fifth consecutive year, the Connecticut FIRST competition will be held in Hartford, April 1-3 at the Connecticut Convention Center. The event regularly draws thousands of high school students from across the region to demonstrate their technical knowledge and abilities using homemade machines.
The NU Foundation also sponsors the Connecticut Science Center’s Forces in Motion Gallery, which hosts a robotics exhibit featuring FIRST robots from prior years of the competition.
NU operates Connecticut Light & Power, Yankee Gas System and Western Massachusetts Electric Co.
