Brrrr…It’s Cold! 5 Free Tips from PECO That Can Help Save You Money

How low will the temperatures go this week: fifty degrees, forty degrees or thirty degrees? No one knows for sure, but if customers follow these 5 energy saving tips they can stay warm and manage their energy costs.

1. Seal drafts around doors and windows. A rolled up towel along the base of a door makes a cheap draft stopper.

2. Keep blinds, drapes and shades open during the day to allow sunlight to heat your home.

3. Make sure your heating ducts are kept clean, free from debris and unblocked to circulate heat.

4. Program your thermostat to better mange how you heat your home.

5. Use ceiling fans to re-circulate warm air throughout the room. Check your owner’s manual for the correct directional setting.

Other Ways To Help

Additional ways to use energy efficiency and manage energy costs can be found at www.peco.com/save. The site features a Web-based, interactive home that takes visitors from attic to basement with energy saving tips and environmental information, energy calculators and other energy saving tips. Customers also can access the company’s Web store for a 20 percent discount on energy efficiency products.

All PECO customers who are in good financial standing should take advantage of PECO’s budget billing program, which makes short-term fluctuation in monthly bills much easier to handle by dividing annual energy costs evenly.

The company also offers a number of programs for low-income customers including the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which provides grants to help meet monthly heating costs. The program’s eligibility requirements, which have been expanded this year, are based on family size and income. Customers can apply now. For more information and eligibility requirements call 1-800-34-HELP-4. Visit www.peco.com/save for more information about how to save or additional assistance programs.

PECO reminds customers that the most important action they can take to avoid termination is to contact the company immediately when they become aware that they will not be able to make their scheduled payment. The most options are available for customers before an account becomes seriously or chronically past due.

Based in Philadelphia, PECO is an electric and natural gas utility serving 1.6 million electric and 480,000 natural gas customers in southeastern Pennsylvania and employs about 2,500 people in the region. PECO delivered 86 billion cubic feet of natural gas and 39.9 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2007. Founded in 1881, PECO is one of the Greater Philadelphia Region's most active corporate citizens, providing leadership, volunteer and financial support to numerous arts and culture, education, environmental, economic development and community programs and organizations.