O&R Advises Wise Energy Use as Temperatures Warm Up

O&R reminds its customers to use energy wisely as more sticky weather is due to come into the area this week.

To help its customers cope with increasing heat and humidity, O&R is providing some easy tips to stay cool and use energy wisely:

• Turning down or turning off air conditioning in your home while you are away or at work helps lower your energy bill.
• Setting your air conditioner to the highest temperature your comfort and health allow. Every degree you lower the thermostat raises your bill by 6 percent.
• Adjusting your air conditioner’s fan to a low setting can make you more comfortable. It’ll take longer for the air conditioner to cool your home, but your unit will bring in steamy air at a slower rate.
• If you have already received a new smart meter, you can take advantage of viewing your detailed energy usage and customized energy savings tips located in your online account at oru.com.
• Closing all doors and windows in your home while the air conditioning is running can make things cooler at a lower price.
• Cooking, baking or other household activities that produce heat and humidity are best left for the cooler times of the day and night.
• Pulling your curtains and shades closed can help block out the heat.
• Covering liquid items in the refrigerator is best. The humidity they give off forces the refrigerator to use more energy.
• Placing the most used items in one place in the refrigerator helps keep the door open for a shorter period of time.
• For more cool tips, please visit O&R’s website at www.oru.com.

Outage Reporting

If you have a power outage, you can report it and check to see when your lights will be back on through:

• At www.oru.com from any computer or web-based mobile device.
• O&R mobile app from your iPhone, iPad or Android device
• Text messaging by texting “OUT” to 69678 (myORU) or
• Call 1-877-434-4100.

If you experience a power outage, don’t assume that O&R automatically knows about it or that someone else will report it. To be sure the outage is reported. The more information you can provide, the more O&R can help you.

Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc. (O&R), a wholly owned subsidiary of Consolidated Edison, Inc., one of the nation’s largest investor-owned energy companies, is a regulated utility. It provides electric service to approximately 300,000 customers in southeastern New York State (where its franchise name is Orange & Rockland) and northern New Jersey (where it’s Rockland Electric Company), and natural gas service to approximately 130,000 customers in New York.