Why Summer Bills Are Higher and What You Can Do
Discover essential tips from our energy experts in this brief video. Understand why summer heat makes your air conditioner work harder and learn effective thermostat settings to stay comfortable while efficiently managing energy costs all season long.
Several factors contribute to higher summer bills, including the weather, your energy use and daily routines, and your home’s energy efficiency. Here are some quick tips that can help you start saving now.
- Run ceiling fans only in occupied rooms - fans cool people, not rooms.
- Inspect and/or change air-conditioning filters monthly and ensure they are installed in the correct direction. Look for directional arrows on the side of the filter.
- Service cooling systems annually and adjust for maximum efficiency.
- Get our top 10 hot weather energy-saving tips for more ways to save.
- Read on to see how changing your thermostat settings can be a huge energy- and money-saving strategy.
A Hot Summer Day and Your Energy Use
One of the most significant contributors to your summer electric bill is air conditioning (A/C). The hotter it is outside, the harder your A/C is working and the more it costs you.
Setting your thermostat at 78 degrees can reduce your electric bill. Even so, your A/C has to run longer and harder to keep up as the difference between the outdoor temperature and your thermostat setting becomes greater.
In our example shown here, even with the thermostat set at 78°F, the A/C runs almost nonstop due to the 20-degree difference between outside and inside temperatures. In homes with poor insulation or undersized A/C units, the gap between the thermostat setting and outdoor temperature an prevent the A/C from cycling off and reaching the desired level of cooling.
Based on a 1,700 sq. ft. home with a 13 SEER, 3-ton A/C unit set at 78°.
Savings Programs
Discover how our many energy-saving programs can help you save:
- Complete an Online Energy Audit for personalized insights and recommendations on your energy usage.
- Business customers can benefit from a free in-facility Energy Audit.
- Participate in Energy Planner, which offers lower rates, or Prime Time Plus, which offers monthly bill credits. Select the program that’s right for you.
- Take advantage of rebates on smart thermostats, ceiling insulation, and more.
Learn more about all our programs, tips and energy-saving calculators.
Put Our Billing Resources to Work
What's Raising Your Power Bill: We want you to know what's contributing to higher energy costs, how we can help and ways you can save energy and money.
Interactive Bills: Access your Interactive Bill to view and compare your daily, monthly and yearly usage reports for insights to help you better manage your energy usage. Visit our About My Bill page for a short tutorial video and learn more.
Budget Billing: Keep your budget on track with steady monthly payments. With Budget Billing, your monthly payment will be based on the average of your last 12 monthly electric bills. Learn more about the benefits of Budget Billing and sign up today!
Get Help, Give Help
We understand that higher electric bills can be a hardship for some customers. To help, we offer a variety of options to assist with bill payments. Additionally, we’ve partnered with compassionate organizations that may be able to offer further support with utility bills and other services.
Payment Assistance
Review our payment assistance programs and resources and reach out for help if you need it.
Share
Participate in our Share program to help qualifying customers pay their utility bills or get help for yourself if you need it.
