Power bills soar for Vegas customers - FOX5 Vegas - KVVU
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High temperatures means many power bills could be high too. NV Energy said on average bills double in the summer but there are ways to save money.
The scorching sun is burning a hole in Tiffany Hedger's pocketbook. Last month, she paid $200 for power.
"I think it's ridiculous," said Hedger who is a NV Energy customer. "I really do."
She's not alone.
"The big thing is a lot of people don't understand how important it is to maintain their units," said Sheridan Snyder from Gibson Air Conditioning. "If they don't maintain their units they are going to break."
Snyder said customers wear out their units by making common mistakes.
"The biggest one is people don't change their filters," said Snyder. "It's very important to keep a clean filter and a good air flow over the unit. If you don't change your unit they'll ice up and they won't stop working."
He said, customers also turn off their unit or crank it up but that doesn't work either.
"If you like it at 76 degrees at your house when you go to work put it at 80 degrees," said Snyder. "When you go home it will run for 45 minutes instead of six hours to cool the house."
NV Energy also recommends closing blinds and drapes and keeping fans running throughout the day to conserve energy. Hedger said she can't wait for the temperatures and her electric bills to go down.
"Luckily the terrible heat is only three months," said Snyder. "Usually the power bills are only bad for three months."
NV Energy also offers an equal payment program that lets customers average their bill over the year to avoid higher summer bills.
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