Tips on reducing your summer electricity bill

As temperatures increase, so does your electricity bill. ABC-7 spoke with El Paso Electric for tips on how you can reduce energy costs this summer.

The more you use air conditioner — especially refrigerated air — the more energy customers use.

The lower you set the temperature, the more it could cost you.

Here are some things El Paso Electric says you can do to cut costs on electricity in the summer:

• Set the thermostat to 78°F — The higher, the better.
• Keep curtains and blinds closed to keep rooms cooler.
• Reduce AC usage and use fans instead.

"Customers typically will set the temperature of their thermostat and kind of leave it there," says Robert Heimer from El Paso Electric. "So maybe they'll say, 'I didn't change anything. I'm doing the same thing I always do.' But because it's hotter outside, your air conditioner system has to run longer to maintain that temperature, and that's really where most of the high bills are coming from."

El Paso Electric has certain programs that can help customers track their electricity usage before the bill comes.

July, August and September are the months with the highest rates, Heimer says.

The following are Paso Electric's Smart Energy Tools that can help customers reduce their electricity costs:

• Budget Billing: Pay the 12-month average every month instead of paying much higher bills in the summer.
• Smart Meter: Helps track your energy usage before the bill comes to monitor and prevent a higher bill from coming in.

All the tools can be found on their website, here.