As most of us know by now, there will be some form of winter precipitation heading into our area as we head into our weekend. Georgia Power has put together a list of tips to help minimize the impact of cold, winter weather on your power bill:
- Optimize heating – Remember, heating can account for 50 percent of a home’s typical winter energy usage. Enhance the efficiency of your heating unit by changing filters monthly, or every three months for pleated filters. Make sure heating vents and return air registers are unobstructed by furniture or drapes.
- Check your insulation – Keep heat where it belongs by ensuring proper insulation in attics and walls. Replace any cracked or peeling caulk or weatherstripping around doors and windows to save up to 10 percent on energy usage and reduce cold air infiltration into your home.
- Adjust your thermostat – Set your manual thermostat to 68 degrees or lower. Each degree lower can result in a 3-4% decrease in energy consumption. Or take advantage of programmable thermostat features if available to save energy throughout the day.
- Utilize natural heat – Open blinds and shades on sunny days to naturally warm your home at no cost. Close them at night to minimize the chill from cold windows.
Staying informed is also essential during severe weather, and Georgia Power offers their customers multiple ways to find out about outages affecting their area, including:
- Outage Alerts – Customers subscribed to their free Georgia Power Outage Alert service will receive personalized notifications and updates via text message. Check that your contact number is up to date to receive the latest information.
- Outage & Storm Center – Available at www.GeorgiaPower.com/Storm, customers can visit this site to check their contact information is updated to receive Outage Alerts, report and check the status of outages, and access useful safety tips and information. Customers can also report and check the status of an outage 24 hours a day by contacting Georgia Power at 888-891-0938.
- Outage Map – Housed within the Outage & Storm Center, Georgia Power’s interactive Outage Map provides near real-time information, allowing users to see where outages are occurring across the state and track estimated restoration times.
- Georgia Power Mobile App – Download the Georgia Power mobile app for Apple and Android devices to access storm and outage information on the go.
- @GeorgiaPower on X (Twitter) – Follow @GeorgiaPower on X for storm tips, outage updates, customer service and more.
