Chelan PUD Power Bills Spike Due to Cold Snap

If you winced at the sight of your electric bill, you are not alone. Chelan PUD says the higher tab is due to the coldest billing cycle on record. From December through this month, the average daily temperature was four degrees below average and it may not be the only surprise bill you get. With the cold snap now extending into January, PUD Customer Relations Manager Kerry Wendell said higher power use may be reflected in your next bill.

Mother Nature has been fickle. Wendell says November was the warmest on record but the average low in December was 18 degrees, compared to 33 the previous year.

Chelan PUD has payment options for customers having difficulty paying their power bill and Wendell urges they call the PUD customer relations department.

Chelan PUD offers to following suggestions to conserve power and save on your power bill:

Setting programmable thermostats to lower temperatures while at work or sleeping; 10 degrees lower than daytime for an electric furnace and 4-5 degrees lower if you have a heat pump.Lowering your thermostat setting by 1 degree can reduce power bills by up to 2 percent

Avoiding the “emergency” or “auxiliary” heat settings if you have a heat pump  read the PUD blog "Unless a tree falls on your heat pump, there's no emergency"