Though the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) may not be able to help people directly deal with gasoline prices, which have increased approximately 37.9% around Waukegan in less than a month, it can assist with savings on the cost of electricity and natural gas.
Mayra Mendez, the executive director of Clean Power Lake County, which sponsored a Home Savings Workshop with CUB, said people can find a variety of ways to save money on their utility bills, freeing funds for gasoline as those prices increase.
“There are opportunities to reduce the cost of energy around your home,” Mendez said. “You can use some of that money to help with increasing gas prices that keep going up.”
Karen Tolentino, the clean energy and communications coordinator for CUB Espanol, said one way people can reduce the cost of gas and electricity is by carefully reading their monthly bills from Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) and North Shore Gas.
Tolentino and Mendez led a Home Savings Workshop for more than a dozen people Tuesday at Clean Power Lake County’s Waukegan Office, revealing numerous tips from closely reading a monthly bill to simple lifestyle modifications like changing the time-of-day laundry is done.
When reviewing the monthly bill, Tolentino said people should be aware of how much power or gas they are using and who specifically is providing the gas or electricity. ComEd and North Shore gas charge separately for providing the fuel and delivering it to a home or business.
Individuals in Illinois are not legally required to purchase the fuel itself from ComEd or North Shore Gas. Tolentino said people should be wary of someone at an event or elsewhere trying to sell them electricity.
“A company will give you a low rate to start and then it will shoot up,” Tolentino said, “If you look at the supply section and it says none, you’re probably all right. It has the name of a company, you have an outside supplier and you’re probably being overcharged. Call and cancel.”
Since electric bills are higher in the summer when people are using air conditioning, Tolentino said ComEd offers efficiency options where the price of electricity varies by the time of day. Under the plan, people pay more during peak times and less when the grid is not overburdened.
“They want less stress on the grid during the peak time,” Tolentino said, “If you use energy during the peak time, you’re going to pay more so set your thermostat four degrees higher then. If your schedule allows it, change the time you do the laundry.”
For people on the hourly plan, doing laundry or running the dishwasher between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. is the time to do it when the energy cost is lowest on the hourly plan. Tolentino said the most expensive time is between 1 and 7 p.m. with 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. as well as 7 to 9 p.m. lower.
Both ComEd and North Shore Gas offer free home energy assessments where they will come to an individual’s home and suggest ways the use of gas or electricity can be reduced like up-to-date filters or light bulbs. Tolentino said ComEd goes to the home for low to moderate income people. It is free for everyone with North Shore Gas, according to its website.
“Customers who don’t meet the (ComEd) income guidelines are eligible for the assessment and can receive free or discounted items delivered to the home for self-installation,” Tolentino said.
Tasks as simple running a ceiling fan clockwise in the winter and counterclockwise in the summer can lower an energy bill. Tolentino said it should never be running when no one is in the room.
Ryan Libby, the director of subscriber acquisition for PowerMarket, told the group about the Yeoman Creek Solar Farm his company is operating in Waukegan. Most people in Waukegan are eligible to subscribe and save approximately $391 a year on their ComEd Bill.
