LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas –As the temperatures have dropped, chances are your electric bill has not. It takes a lot of energy to make a home comfortable when there is a huge difference between inside and outside temperatures.
Heating and cooling costs account for approximately 55% of an average customer’s monthly bill. Usage is even higher if there are consecutive days of cold temperatures, causing bills to increase as well.
To keep the comfortable air in and the colder air out, energy efficiency is especially important in the winter. Steps you can take to help save money on winter energy usage include:
- Seal air leaks. Install weatherstripping around your doors, windows, and any location where there may be a path between the inside and outside of your home or business.
- Adjust the thermostat. Set the thermostat to 68 degrees and wrap up in layers if necessary. Each degree higher can add 3% to your bill.
- Conserve hot water. Set the thermostat to 120 degrees or medium and wrap your electric water heater with a water heater blanket, which can be found at home improvement stores.
- Keep doors and windows closed. Constant traffic will let out the warm air, forcing your heater to work harder to keep the room at the set temperature.
- Ensure fans are turning the right way. Fans should be run at a low speed clockwise during the winter to prevent the cold air from blowing down on you.
- Keep the air circulating. Don’t block heat registers or air returns with curtains or furniture.
- Leverage the sun. During the day, open your curtains and blinds to let in the warm sunlight. Close them at night to reduce heat loss.
There are a couple programs that can help going forward to better manage payment of your Entergy Arkansas bill, including:
- Level Billing – Entergy Arkansas averages your bill over a rolling 12-month period, so you have a consistent bill each month of the year. Pay about the same every month, with no surprises. Enroll at www.myentergy.com/s/levelbill.
- Pick-A-Date – Choose what day of the month you get billed to line up with your budget and manage your cash flow at https://www.myentergy.com/s/pickdate.
If you’ve made your home as energy efficient as possible and the bill still seems to be higher than it should be, contact our customer service representatives at 1-800-368-3749 (1-800-ENTERGY). Our representatives can investigate customer accounts, verify whether the billings are correct and provide additional information about a particular account.
If a high bill has already arrived, there are helpful ways to manage your costs or perhaps receive assistance for paying your bill.
- Power to Care – Through The Power to Care program, local nonprofit agencies can provide emergency bill payment assistance to seniors and disabled individuals in crisis. Find out more at entergy-arkansas.com/bill-help/.
- LIHEAP – The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program provides money to help customers with energy bills and other energy-related expenses. LIHEAP is funded through the federal government and works with local community action agencies to help customers pay for and keep electric service in their homes. For information on how to apply for assistance, call 1-800-421-0762 or visit the Arkansas Community Action Agencies Association, Inc. website at http://www.acaaa.org/local-community-action-agencies/.
Customers who are behind on bill payments should contact Entergy Arkansas either online at www.EntergyArkansas.com or by phone at 1-800 ENTERGY (1-800-368-3749) to make payment arrangements and prevent disconnection. The Entergy app is also available for Android and iPhone operating systems at www.Entergy.com/app/ and can be used for your convenience to pay bills, monitor your usage and more.
Customers are also encouraged to take advantage of Entergy Solutions programs, including a comprehensive residential energy audit and some on-the-spot upgrades, like LED lights and weather stripping. This is available to qualifying customers at no additional cost, and more information is available online at www.entergy-arkansas.com/energy_efficiency.
ABOUT ENTERGY ARKANSAS
Entergy Arkansas provides electricity to approximately 722,000 customers in 63 counties. Entergy Arkansas is a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation (NYSE: ETR), an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy delivers electricity to three million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of $10 billion and approximately 12,500 employees.
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