Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

With Cold Weather, Energy Prices Rise

With cold weather hitting earlier this year and energy prices at industry highs, Arkansas residents may see higher energy bills than normal the next few weeks. Natural gas prices rose dramatically the end of November after the National Weather Service predicted lower-than-normal temperatures for parts of the U.S.

Arkla vice president for Arkansas, Sherman Tate, said, "Historically, natural gas prices are highest in December and January, then, as weather starts to warm up in February and March, prices start to decline. Although no one knows for sure, we anticipate those trends will hold true for the 1996-97 heating season as well. Arkla's natural gas supplies are purchased at market indexed prices and those prices are passed on to the customer with no markup. We constantly strive to provide our customers with the most reliable service at the lowest cost."

The average American household spends more than $1,000 per year to operate appliances and heating and cooling equipment in the home. Even though you cannot control energy prices, there are a number of ways you can lower the amount of energy you use, which will also help to reduce the bill.

A low-cost way to reduce energy usage is to seal tiny cracks around windows and doors with caulking. Caulking doors and windows in an average house will save about $32 a year on utility bills.

A crack only 1/16th of an inch wide around an exterior door will lose the same amount of air as if there was a hole in your house the size of a brick. When cold air sifts around doors and windows, there's money sifting through your pockets. The monthly heat loss through just one door without weather-stripping is enough to heat an average home for 14 hours. To check for cracks, shine a flashlight at night around you outside doors. If light shines through, you need to weather-strip.

Arkla offers the following additional tips to minimize energy bills:

• Check your thermostat.

• Keep the temperature set at 65 to 68 degrees during the day and 58 at night when you will be gone for four hours or longer. Lower your thermostate setting to 55 degrees when you're away from home for long periods of time.

• Check your insulation.

• Insulate the attic, floors and walls (if practical) in upprotected areas. Hardware and building supply stores can provide complete information on the amount and kinds of insulation that may be needed.

• Perform general maintenance on your gas appliances and heating units.

• Don't let dust accumulate around any gas appliance or burner.

• Keep heat outlets clean.

• Replace furnace filters.

• Have a qualified professional seasonally check your gas-burning appliances to be sure your equipment is operating at maximum efficiency.

• Check your water heater

• The thermostate should be set on medium-to-warm (125 degrees F), but some dishwashers need 140 degrees F.

• Use less hot water for bathing and showering.

• Don't use ranges or ovens for heating your home or kitchen.

• Clean and replace filters as needed.

• Insulate ducts and pipes in unheated areas.

• On sunny days, open window shades or draperies to let the sun warm the house. Other times, keep window coverings closed to insulat against outside air.

• Keep fireplace damper tightly closed when fireplace is not in use.

• Keep basement, garage or attic doors which connect with the house closed if these are not heated.

• Plug air leaks around your permanently installed window air conditioner. If the grill plate is removable tuck in cloth or plastic to shut off drafts. Be sure to remove before turning on the air conditioner when the weather warms.

• Adjust registers to promote upward air flow.

• Close doors to unused rooms.

• Wear several layers of shirts, sweaters, inculsted underwear and socks.

• Remember, light-weight blankets trap warm air and gives more comfort than one heavy blanket.

• Have insulated windows and doors installed.

Arkla, a division of NorAm Energy Corp., serves 720,000 customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma. NorAm Energy is the nation's third largest Natural gas distribution company serving nearly three million customers through its Arkla, Entex and Minnegasco divisions.