Extreme cold temperatures are forecasted to stick around throughout this week, Jan. 20th - Jan. 24th. As we experience these exceptionally cold temperatures, energy use will increase around your home. Haywood EMC wants to help our members conserve energy as their usage increases. Follow these tips to begin reducing your usage:

1. Lower your thermostat setting to the lowest comfortable setting.
2. Reduce water heater temperatures to 120 degrees.
3. Delay dishwashing and clothes washing until after the coldest morning and evening hours. 
4. Turn off any lights when you leave a room.
5. If possible, delay any other use of electricity until the temperatures have warmed up (ex: Wired power tools, electric motors, space heaters, etc.)

In addition to saving you money, these power-saving efforts will also reduce strain on the electrical grid and lessen the possibility of outages due to strained infrastructure.  As the week goes on, be prepared to implement these power reduction measures again, especially in the early morning and late evening hours.