TEXAS, USA — With entire families forced to stay home, chances are you might see a rise in your electricity bill.
Wayne Morrison Principal of Reliant Energy Emerging Technologies said if you're concerned about a rising electric bill, there are some small changes you can make to cut costs.
Temperature is critical and accounts for a significant part of your bill. Morrison said to set your AC to auto instead of on. You can also rotate your ceiling fan counter-clockwise to cool down the house.
Also, since restaurant closures probably mean more cooking at home, you might have more dishes than usual. A tip for this is to only run a full load of dishes on the energy-saving cycle. If you don't have this feature, turn your dishwasher off after the final rinse and let the dishes air dry.
"When you do laundry you want to run that in the evening or early in the morning so any heat or moisture from that doesn't make your AC work harder during the day," Morrison said.
Instead of using the oven, which consumes a lot of energy, you can grill outdoors in your backyard.
"Head to the patio to grill or for a BBQ. Also, you can use a microwave or a slow cooker since those don't use as much electricity and help keep the inside of your home cooler," Morrison said.
He also said there is no need to stress about screen time because most of those devices only cost pennies a day to operate. However, do make sure your pool pump does not run 24/7 by installing an automatic timer.
"The community is what we're all about," Morrison said. "So as we face these new things with COVID-19, we have options that are tailored for them."
If you need additional help, Reliant does offer several different bill assistance programs. These include payment extensions, waiving late fees, deferred payment plans and Reliant Care Community Assistance.
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