4-County Electric Power Association shares tips on managing energy cost

Hot and humid weather is inevitable, but that does not mean high electric bills have to be

LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Here in the Southeast, hot and humid weather is inevitable, but that does not mean high electric bills have to be.

Jon Turner at 4-County Electric Power Association said managing energy costs when temperatures rise is for personal benefit.

“Lower energy cost equals a lower bill,” Turner said. “In the bigger picture, the more we can conserve energy when temperatures get to those extreme states, the better it is for everybody because we all get our power from the Tennessee Valley Authority, and they only have a certain amount of power available at certain times. When there are those extreme temperatures, everyone’s use is ramped up across the Tennessee Valley, and that means we’re all putting a strain on the available capacity of electricity.”

When Tennessee Valley Authority has to buy more and more power, that means higher rates for power bills. Air conditioning is more than likely the biggest use of power right now.

“The biggest thing that people can do is just change their behavior,” Turner said. “The most impactful thing you can do is run your thermostat up. They recommend 78 degrees. For a lot of folks, that’s just too hot for them, and I get it. You have to balance comfort with financial considerations. For every degree you can set your thermostat higher for this time of year, you’re gonna save roughly 3% of your power bill.”

Turner said if you can avoid using power during peak times of the day while cooking, doing laundry, and turning on the lights, your home will stay cooler because the appliances won’t be heating your house.

“Look for cracks,” Turner said. “If you’ve got cracks, use calk or use weather stripping to try to seal that in because everything you can see that’s a place for cool air to be escaping. Move to Led light bulbs. lighting is so cheap now especially when you’re using those bulbs. It really makes a big impact. Change the air filters in your air conditioner. People let those things get clogged up. The rule of thumb is to do that every three months. The biggest thing the most impactful thing is just be aware of what you use when you use it, and try to use less.”

There are free tools and tricks to help you save energy on their website at 4County.org.

For 24/7 news and updates, follow us on Facebook and Twitter