CALIFORNIA, USA — Sixteen million PG&E customers are likely to see their energy bills go up. The utility says it needs more money to put lines underground and make the power grid safer.
The California Public Utilities Commission is expected to approve a rate increase for PG&E at its meeting Thursday. The proposal would increase rates by 9% or 13%, even though PG&E initially asked to raise rates by 26%.
With a rate increase looming, there are some ways you can keep your energy bills down and it all starts with your laundry. Cyndi Bray knows a thing or two about saving energy.
“About 10% of your energy bill goes to doing laundry,” said Bray.
Bray won over investors on ABC's "Shark Tank" with her bed sheet laundry tool called Wad-Free inspired by her battles with balled-up bedding.
“You come back to the dryer, you don't find dry fluffy sheets, you find this great big wet wad that you have to unravel and run through the dryer again and again,” she said.
Bray says it’s not only annoying but wasteful too.
“The dryer is one of the least efficient appliances in the household,” she said.
She suggests paying attention to your laundry settings. You can try to cut down on your energy bill by washing your sheets and clothes in cold water.
“Don't worry that they don't come out very clean, because a lot of the detergent on the market these days is actually formulated to work best in cold water,” said Bray.
It could help your clothes last longer, too.
“Instead of running the dryer on high heat, I want you to turn that down to low. Even if you have to run the dryer for a longer period of time, you're going to save a lot of energy over running it on high,” she said.
Your kitchen is also a place where you might use a lot of gas and electricity, so take a closer look at your fridge.
The Department of Energy suggests not setting your refrigerator too cold. Stay around 35-38 degrees for the fresh food compartment and around 0 degrees in the freezer.
For more energy saving tips, click HERE.
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