BALTIMORE — Some like it cold, some like it hot, but it's a fear of high energy bills that could determine where families set the thermostat this winter.
Shipley Energy president Matt Sommer said “it’s not a bad year to think about conservation. How many households have a never ending argument over where the thermostat should be set winner to let the person who likes in a little cooler win.”
BGE director of customer care Marcus Walker said “we ask that you manage your thermostat, it’s a simple task, but just by lowering your thermostat a few degrees will actually lower your bill.”
Walker recommends a good time to start saving energy and money is while people sleep.
“When you’re asleep and you’re at home, we ask that you turn it down 10° from what you‘re normally comfortable at night and you’ll save about 10% on your heating bill,” Walker said.
Whether it's turning down the heat or setting a cap on how much you pay per gallon on heating oil or propane, the threat of high energy bills this winter has people thinking about ways to save however they can.
“We’re seeing a lot of people take interest in price protection programs like a cap price that we offer, and that just limits the potential for it to go even higher. There’s definitely more interest in that this year than a typical year,” Sommer said.
Sommer also recommends consumers consider planning ahead for winter and sign up for a budget payment plan.
“They set a monthly rate that you pay what you avoid a big surprise or a big one time invoice because it’s spread out evenly throughout the year, including the non-heating months,” Sommer said.
“Budget billing is a program it actually prevents the surprise bills. It allows your bill to be steady throughout the months, avoids the fluctuations it makes it easier for you to pay your bills throughout the yearl,” Walker said.
It also can help those who get behind on their bills while trying to make ends meet.
“You can set up payment arrangements. What that will do is spread your past due balances out for a period of time to allow your time to catch up,” Walker said.
Ben Franklin, a legendary man who experimented with electricity once said an “ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” For homeowners using gas, oil, or electric, it could be worth saving some Benjamins on their heating bill.
To figure out how, BGE offers free energy usage alerts; a free HVAC checkup; and a free home energy check in which an energy expert will visit a customer’s home and offer some tips on how to save money.
“Some of those could be simple tasks such as caulking around your doors and windows. You’ll be surprised at the amount of heat that escapes through those,” Walker said.
“With these higher prices, it’s really really important that you’re using the product as efficiently as possible. So, it’s been some time since you’ve had your furnace tune-up, it’s well worth the investment this year, to squeeze out that little bit of additional efficiency into your system so that you use fewer gallons,” Sommer said.
If severe weather strikes, it could be a harsh winter in more ways than one, even for those who prepare for the worst.
“We purchase half of what we think our customers are going to use throughout the year to manage the influx in gas cost. But, right now we do know we’re still gonna have opportunities where gas rates will be higher than we’re used to paying and we want our customers to prepare for that,” Walker said.
There are different strategies to save depending upon each families individual situation, such as from the low income home energy assistance program known as LIHEAP.
“They get a percentage, so it’s not as though its covered in full, but they do get a percentage which in a time like this can be really helpful in lowering the overall expense,” Sommer said.
“When customers apply there’s different factors such as your household size, your income amount, which determines if you’re eligible,” Walker said.
The BGE Agency Assistance Finder can simplify the process to help families identify what programs they might be eligible for and contact the respective agency providers to qualify.
“As of last year on average customer received $1800 in assistance throughout the year so I just encourage our customers to take time and apply,” Walker said.
For more information about BGE savings tips, click here.
Click here for more information about Shipley Energy payment plans or here for low-income energy assistance.
