This story is part of the WHYY News Climate Desk, bringing you news and solutions for our changing region.
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Electricity rates are high and expected to keep rising. PECO just asked state regulators to increase rates by 12.5%. A recent settlement by PPL Electric would increase rates by almost 5% this summer if approved by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.
A number of factors have combined to send electricity bills soaring in Pennsylvania, including the planned increase in data centers, rising supply costs as demand increases and infrastructure expansion. While ratepayers have little control over most of these factors, there are a few things consumers can do.
WHYY News’ senior climate reporter Susan Phillips joined WHYY’s Morning Edition host Jennifer Lynn to share quick tips to lower your bills.
Jennifer Lynn: I like this topic a lot. I’m the kind of person who puts the shades down tight in the summer to block out the summer heat. You know, let’s start with some of this easy stuff. Our bills are going up. What can we do?
Susan Phillips: First of all, if you still have incandescent light bulbs, it’s a good idea to switch to LED light bulbs. The Department of Energy says that this can save the average household $225 a year in electricity costs. Second, check the thermostat on your hot water heater. It should be set at 120 degrees Fahrenheit. So if it’s electric and set at 140 degrees, for example, the DOE says if you turn it down 20 degrees, that will save you up to $400 a year.
JL: Well, that’s pretty good. What about heat and air conditioning?
SP: So the DOE recommends a setting of 68 degrees Fahrenheit when you’re awake and 58 to 60 degrees when you’re asleep or not at home. Again, this is if you have electric heat.
Most Pennsylvanians actually use gas to heat their homes. For air conditioning, the recommendation is 74 to 76 degrees, and a way to make things cooler is to add a fan. A cheap box fan that can circulate the air and cool things down further.
JL: There are often the family wars, the temperature wars, right? We all know about that. So you got to navigate that too. What is the top user of electricity in my house?
SP: Your refrigerator, which you can’t do much about because it has to run. However, experts say if your appliances like your refrigerator, washer, dryer or dishwasher are at the end of their life, it may be worth it to get a new one that is high efficiency. They encourage you to get as high-efficiency of an appliance as you can afford. And to do that, of course you look for that Energy Star rating.
JL: It’s worth it if my appliance is really old and ready to just conk out.
SP: That’s right. There is one exception though. If you have a window air conditioning unit, those will last forever, but apparently they become really inefficient over time. So it may be worth looking for a higher efficiency window unit, even if the one you have is not about to die.