This summer has been one of the hottest on record. As temperatures soar, air conditioners have to work extra hard to keep your home cool. This can lead to electric bills that are higher than the rest of the year.
To help assist customers having difficulty making utility bill payments, Tampa Electric is donating $1 million to the Share program to help customers with summer bills. Share is administered by the Salvation Army and the Catholic Charities Diocese of St. Petersburg, specifically to provide utility bill assistance.
TECO’s charitable contributions are paid by shareholders and the generosity of employees, customers and community partners, and they do not affect customer bills.
Here are a few ways to use less energy (and help reduce your power bill):
• Set your thermostat at 78 degrees or higher and set the fan on auto. Every degree below 78 can add 6-8 percent to the cooling portion of your power bill.
• Use ceiling fans — but only in occupied rooms. For summer, rotate the blades counterclockwise.
• Limit your pool pump to run eight hours a day or as recommended by your pool service.
• Set your refrigerator temperature to 37 degrees and your freezer to 5 degrees.
• Lower the temperature setting on your water heater to 120 degrees.
• Run the washing machine and dishwasher only when they are full.
• Close the curtains or blinds in sunny rooms to keep the heat out.
• Turn off computers and monitors when not in use, or put them in sleep mode.
• Clean or replace air conditioning filters each month.
• Check for leaky windows and doors, including the fireplace damper if you have one.
• Make sure your attic is sufficiently insulated.
Learn more about how you can adjust your energy use with energy calculators (for more information, visit www.tampaelectric.com/residential/saveenergy/energy-calculators/).
To help customers better manage their energy use, Tampa Electric offers more energy-saving programs than any other investor-owned utility in Florida.
Prime Time Plus℠ is a free and easy way to earn credits on your electric bill. The average customer earns $144 per year. It does this by letting Tampa Electric reduce electricity use during periods of extremely high demand.
The free Energy Planner program is a powerful tool to save money. It allows you to plan your highest energy use during the time of day when demand for electricity is lowest. You can save about a month’s worth of electricity each year by making simple adjustments to the time of day you use electricity.
To continue to help manage your energy costs, you can get a free energy audit from Tampa Electric. The online audit identifies areas where you may be wasting valuable energy.
Tampa Electric has been encouraging sustainability for over 40 years. In that time, more than 1.38 million customers have participated in the company’s energy-saving programs. In 2022 alone, 138,000 of Tampa Electric’s customers participated in at least one energy-saving program. Visit www.tampaelectric.com for more information.
