Big Changes on Your Power Bill in 2010

This is a reminder to all. In 2010, the price cap for your power bills will be coming off. When this happens, the power companies will be able to charge you what ever they want. My power company has said that when this happens, their customers would probably see a 10%-20% increase on their power bills. Just keep this in mind as the time get closer. Those of us that are struggling to pay their power bills now may find it almost, if not impossible to pay their power bills after the price cap comes off.

So my advice to you is this. It may cost you a little bit to do this. But, You may want to consider replacing everything in your home, especially things that are hard on power like your old refridgerators, freezers, washers, dryers, A/C units, old style furnaces, and any other power hungry items and replace them with new Energy Star Labeled things. Things with the Energy Star Labele consume less power and are more efficient to operate than a lot of the older stuff does. If you don't know where to start, my advice is to replace the things that run all the time like you refridgerators. Start with the things that you use the most, then work your way down. Try to make your home as energy efficient as you possibly can before they remove the price cap. This includes insulating your homes so that they are easier to heat and to cool. This is especially true for those that have electric heat. Don't forget to replace your light bulbs with the CFL style bulbs to save money with your lights. If you use night lights, purchase the ones with the light sensor on them, and purchase the LED style ones. The light sensor will turn the lights off at the first sign when there is enough light to do so. And using the LED style night lights use up to 90% less energy than the regular ones do. Use the switched style night lights in the rooms that don't have a natural light source. This way you can turn them off during the day.

These are just some words of advice for you. Its better to start replacing things now, rather than to have to scramble around trying to make your home more energy efficient when the big change comes. This way you can replace things a little at a time. The best time to purchase the bigger items is when you get your income tax returns. Replacing your power hungry items with more energy efficient things may lessen the burden when the big change comes. We all have to use power. Lets try to do it as efficiently as possible and save as much money as we can. Sometimes we have to spend money to save it.