Reduce your electricity bill with these 5 simple changes
With the world in the midst of an ongoing energy crisis, people are looking for ways to reduce their electricity use. Here are five changes you can make right now to cut your electricity bill: Washing your dishes by hand instead of relying on a dishwasher is a great way to reduce energy use, although it is a little more inconvenient. Avoid overfilling your fridge and freezer, as giving it too much cold will cause the appliance to use more energy. Tumble dryers use a lot of electricity, so you should hang or air dry your clothes if possible. Although many cookbooks say otherwise, there is no need to preheat the oven. This uses a lot of energy and has no effect on the outcome of the dishes. Ironing may be a necessity, but if you can reduce your ironing time to one big weekly session, you will save money in the long run.
without brand – lifestyle
As the Fayetteville Public Works Commission prepares to change its electric service, residents can expect changes to their electric bills for the next twelve months starting in September.
The change reflects the costs associated with supplying electricity to the region, PWC chief financial officer Rhonda Haskins said Friday. She said that in the past, electricity adjustments, whether a fee or credit on the bill, have varied between 0.100 and 0.950 cents per kilowatt hour. In this case, residents can expect a slight reduction in their monthly bills.
Haskins said these adjustments typically last about 12 months. Last year was the first year since 2014 when a 0.635 cent per kilowatt hour adjustment to electricity supply was implemented. She said the new adjustment would be 0.327 cents per kilowatt hour of use for each billing period.
“So the proposed PSA is 48.5% less than the current PSA,” Haskins said. “The impact on the average household bill last year was estimated at $6.52 per month, and the proposed PSA is estimated at $3.29, meaning customers would see a $3.23 reduction over the next 12 months.”
Haskins said the $3.23 savings is based on 1,026 kilowatts of electricity per month, and is an estimate for the average customer, so the final savings will depend on the customer’s actual total electricity usage, which varies from customer to customer.
What residents need to know
Haskins said the adjustment takes into account fluctuations in the cost of electricity supply. The adjustment ensures that PWC can cover the additional costs incurred by purchasing energy, especially when prices rise unexpectedly.
“In this case, energy prices for the first half of 2024 are expected to be over 18% higher than what Duke Energy Progress charges under its fixed monthly forecast prices, and forecasts for the rest of the year are also estimated to be higher,” she said.
Haskins said the proposed power adjustment is intended to cover about $6.4 million in additional energy costs that PWC will pay Duke Energy Progress between July and December. She said the $6.4 million “back payment” reflects the difference between the projected rates PWC paid and the actual costs determined after Duke Energy completed its year-end reports. She said Duke Energy issues a “true-up” invoice to PWC each year to make up those differences, and when the projections are off, as they did this year, PWC makes back payments to avoid future interest charges.
While customers pay more to make up the difference, the current payment is less than what they previously paid to make up other differences in previous years. So, although bills technically go down, they remain higher than they would have been if electricity usage had evened out as expected.
“The additional $6.4 million in costs to be paid to DEP for power delivery are not included in base rates and will be recovered through the PSA in customers’ bills,” Haskins said.
PWC will hold a public hearing on the proposed power adjustment on Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. in the PWC Board Room at 955 Old Wilmington Road.
Reporter Lizmary Evans covers growth and development for The Fayetteville Observer. Reach her at [email protected]
