PHILIPPINES – July will have a bright spot in monthly bills of Meralco’s customers with the P0.72 kWh reduction on electricity rate recently announced by the utility.
This means that for households consuming 200 kWh, there will be a savings of around P144, while households consuming 300 kWh will pay P316 less fpr their electricity bill this month. The significant decrease is due to the lower generation charge
that Meralco pays to its suppliers.
With these savings, you can keep the extra money to your emergency use, or add it to something more long-term like your child’s education fund.
Saving is always a good idea, and while electricity bills change monthly based on actual consumption, there are many ways that families can efficiently manage the use of electricity in their homes. Keep saving every month with these simple but effective tipid tips from Meralco:
1. Keep your refrigerator full, but do not overload. Keep it at least two-thirds full to let the cool air circulate and properly chill your food. Overfilling the refrigerator hinders the cold airflow, making it less efficient.
2. Don’t store hot food in the fridge. Let it cool to room temperature first; otherwise, your refrigerator will have to work harder to bring the temperature down. This can save you up to P20/month.
3. Plan ahead. Prepare all ingredients before cooking to avoid frequently switching on the electric stove. Thaw frozen food thoroughly before cooking.
4. Minimize your oven’s heating time. You can actually turn off the oven up to 15 minutes (depending on the dish) before the cooking time is completed. The heat in the oven will continue to cook the dish until you take it out. Also, keep preheating to a minimum.
5. Clean fans regularly. The dust that accumulates on the motor’s cover, fan blades, motor housings, and grills reduces the air current generated by the fan. This causes it to heat up and consume more energy.
6. Unplug your TV sets. This eliminates stand-by power costs. A 21-inch TV with stand-by power consumption can add P15-P20 on your monthly electric bill.
7. Maximize the operation of your washing machine. Wait until you can have a full batch before washing. Washing a single item or half-loads use the same amount of energy as doing a full load. But don’t overload your unit—this makes it work harder and less efficiently. Also, don’t use too much detergent as a surplus of suds require extra rinsing and thus more energy consumption.
8. Check out the Appliance Calculator (App Cal). This is a smart tool which tracks how much energy your appliances consume every hour, day, week, and month. Backed with all the information on your consumption tested by Meralco Power Lab, you can now conveniently adjust your usage according to your budget. Find it through this website or in your Meralco mobile app.
These are just some tips that—when practiced regularly among all family members—can accumulate to significant savings in your home’s electricity expenses. For more practical tipid tips, visit Meralco Bright Ideas.