Duke Energy prepared for colder temperatures in Florida; offers tips to stay safe and manage energy usage

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – As temperatures in Florida are forecasted to plunge overnight Wednesday andThursday, Duke Energy is prepared to meet its customers’ energy needs. System operators are closely monitoring the electric power system and the company doesn’t anticipate any issues meeting higher energy demand typically associated with cold weather.

Winter Weather Energy Savings Tips
During times of extreme temperatures, customers will use more power, which generally results in a higher bill the following month.
Electric heating can account for as much as half of an energy bill, so controlling the home’s thermostat is one of the best ways to manage energy usage and cost.

Customers should keep the thermostat at the lowest comfortable setting for heating. Installing a programmable thermostat allows the customer to automatically set specific temperatures at different times of the day.

Additional ways to manage winter energy costs include:

• Set ceiling fans in a clockwise direction to push warm air down into rooms.
• Open drapes and blinds to allow the sun to warm rooms during the day. Close them at night.
• Change heating-system air filters. Dirty air filters make heating systems work harder, which uses more energy.
• Use space heaters sparingly and turn them off when you leave the room or go to sleep. Never use the stove or oven to warm your home. It’s extremely expensive and very dangerous.
• Don’t raise the setting on the thermostat quickly. This can activate a heat pump’s heat strips which use a great deal of electricity. Raising the temperature a degree or two at the time steadily warms your home and keeps your bill lower.

More energy and money-saving tips are available online at www.duke-energy.com.

In addition to impacting customer bills, low temperatures can also put more stress on the equipment used to generate and deliver electricity. While isolated equipment problems are possible, Duke doesn’t anticipate widespread issues.

Customers who experience an outage should call Duke Energy’s automated outage-reporting system in Florida at 1-800-228-8485.  Customers may also report an outage or view current outages online at www.duke-energy.com/storm.



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