- Financial assistance programs, incentives and rates – and
even low-cost or no-cost energy efficiency tips – can offset
higher-than-average electric bills
ST.
PETERSBURG, Fla., Feb. 12,
2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Duke Energy Florida is sharing
various resources to help customers manage their increased energy
usage in January, when extreme winter weather swept across the
state, which may have resulted in some receiving
higher-than-average electric bills.
"While Duke Energy Florida lowered rates by nearly $10 in January, our customers are less likely to
notice that change because freezing temperatures forced their
heating systems to work overtime, driving up their energy usage
and, in turn, their electric bills," said Melissa Seixas, Duke Energy Florida state
president. "We want to make sure they have the support they need to
offset these costs and continue making sound, energy-efficient
decisions in the year ahead."
Financial assistance programs, incentives and rates made
available by the company include:
- Home Energy Checks – free in-person, online or phone
evaluations of your home's energy efficiency, as well as
recommendations for improvement.
- Home Improvement Rebate Programs – rebates for energy
efficiency upgrades made around your home (only if you have
completed a Home Energy Check first).
- Income-Qualified Weatherization Program – free
installation of energy efficiency upgrades around your home (only
if you have an income less than 200% of federal poverty
guidelines).
- EnergyWise® Home Program – annual bill credits for
automatically reducing your energy usage during periods of high
demand.
- Time-of-Use Rate Program – lowered rates for shifting your
energy usage away from the three to six hours a day when demand
typically surges.
- Budget Billing – predictable monthly energy bills
regardless of changes in your energy usage or the weather.
- Share the Light Fund® – funds distributed by participating
agencies to help pay electric bills, deposits and
connection/reconnection charges.
The following low-cost or no-cost tips can help lower energy
usage as well:
- Reduce your thermostat to the lowest comfortable setting. The
smaller the difference between the temperature inside your home and
outside, the lower your energy usage and the greater the
savings.
- Change your air filter and schedule regular maintenance for
your heating systems. Maintaining your heating systems can help
increase efficiency.
- Set your water heater to 120 degrees to manage water heating,
which is typically the second biggest user of energy in your
home.
- Caulk, seal and weatherstrip air leaks in windows, doors and
vents to save 10% to 20% in heating and cooling costs.
- Replace standard bulbs with LEDs, which are more efficient
than regular bulbs, while giving off the same amount of light.
- Replacing just six of your most frequently used bulbs with LEDs
can save up to $480 over the lifetime
of the bulbs.
And for context, below are location-specific statistics relating
to the weather and customers' energy usage (for heating only) in
January:
- In the Tallahassee area:
- The average temperature in January was 8.5 degrees colder than
December, 6 degrees colder than a year ago and 5 degrees colder
than a typical January.
- As a result, typical customers used about 79% more energy for
heating purposes in January compared to December, 42% more than a
year ago and 36% more than a typical January.
- In the Orlando area:
-
- The average temperature in January was 7.5 degrees colder than
December, 5.6 degrees colder than a year ago and 4.4 degrees colder
than a typical January.
- As a result, typical customers used about 145% more energy for
heating purposes in January compared to December, 84% more than a
year ago and 50% more than a typical January.
- In the St. Petersburg
area:
-
- The average temperature in January was 6.8 degrees colder than
December, 3.8 degrees colder than a year ago and 4.4 degrees colder
than a typical January.
- As a result, typical customers used about 187% more energy for
heating purposes in January compared to December, 71% more than a
year ago and 71% more than a typical January.
If customers need help reading their electric bills, Duke Energy
offers an interactive tool to explain each component, such as a
graph and comparison chart that provide a clear, uncluttered
snapshot of their energy usage.
More information can be found at duke-energy.com/HereToHelp and
duke-energy.com/SeasonalSavings.
Duke Energy Florida
Duke Energy Florida, a subsidiary
of Duke Energy, owns 12,300 megawatts of energy capacity, supplying
electricity to 2 million residential, commercial and industrial
customers across a 13,000-square-mile service area in
Florida.
Duke Energy
Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune
150 company headquartered in Charlotte,
N.C., is one of America's largest energy holding companies.
The company's electric utilities serve 8.4 million customers in
North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio
and Kentucky, and collectively own
54,800 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas utilities
serve 1.7 million customers in North
Carolina, South Carolina,
Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky.
Duke Energy is executing an ambitious clean energy transition,
keeping reliability, affordability and accessibility at the
forefront as the company works toward net-zero methane emissions
from its natural gas business by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions
from electricity generation by 2050. The company is investing in
major electric grid upgrades and cleaner generation, including
expanded energy storage, renewables, natural gas and
nuclear.
More information is available at duke-energy.com and the Duke
Energy News Center. Follow Duke Energy
on X, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook, and visit illumination for
stories about the people and innovations powering our energy
transition.
Contact: Aly Raschid
24-Hour: 800.559.3853
X: @DE_AlyRaschid
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SOURCE Duke Energy
