PINEVILLE, La. – An unusually cold winter, along with rare ice and snow events, in Louisiana has led to an increase in the energy usage by some Cleco customers.  Cleco reminds customers that the colder it is outside, the harder a heating system has to work, and the more energy it takes to keep a home warm.

“The largest energy expense in the home is typically the heating and cooling system.  These past couple of months, colder weather has increased customers’ energy usage leaving some of them with higher than average bills,” said Shirley Turner, Cleco vice president of customer experience.  “We want to remind our customers that recent higher bills may be due to usage, and not rate increases or billing issues.”

Tips to stay warm and conserve energy this winter:

• Save up to 10 percent a year on heating by turning your thermostat back seven to10 degrees for eight hours a day from its typical setting. 
• Water heating is the second largest energy expense in the home.  Experts recommend setting the water heater’s thermostat at 120 degrees Fahrenheit and wrapping electric water heaters and all exposed pipes. 
• Stop phantom energy (power consumed by devices that are plugged in, but not being used).  Identify and unplug appliances, computers, phone chargers or anything else that is not being used regularly.  For devices that are not easily unplugged, such as a computers or televisions, use a smart power strip.  A smart power strip detects when a device or appliance is not being used and automatically cuts off power. 

More energy-saving tips can be found on Cleco’s website.  For billing questions, please contact a Cleco representative at 1-800-622-6537.