Many customers are experiencing higher than normal electric bills. Of course, there are many reasons for increases in utility costs, one of which is a recent 3% rate increase. Another reason is that we have had a long cold winter. Johnny Carson might have asked, "How cold was it?"

Another reason is that we have had a long cold winter thus far. We all know that, but let me give you a few statistics

The Water Plant gathers the official temperature data on a daily basis. They provided the Finance Department with side-by- side information from January 2009 and January 2010, and additional analysis was conducted with that data.

Click on: Water Plant Temperature Data

What was easy to determine is that there was a 10 degree drop in the average daily high temperatures. Let me say that again, that's an average drop of 10 degrees each day when comparing January 2010 to January 2009. (Please note: the average low temperature remained the same).

The other interesting statistic deals with how much heat it takes to compensate for the additional cold. Those in the heating and cooling industry use a calculation called Heating Degree Days (HDD)

A simple way of calculating HDD takes the high temperature for the day and the low temperature for the day, adds them together, divides the sum by two, then subtracts that number from a base temperature of 65 degrees. Having done that for each day in Jan. 09 and Jan. 2010 it was determined that Ottawa experienced 159 Heating Degree Days more in Jan. 2010 than Jan. 2009. I know, right about now you're saying, "So What?"

Click on: Heating Days Information

So, the HDD calculation demonstrates that we experienced a 14.2% increase in heating requirements this January as compared to the same month a year ago. It's not the whole story and I'd be willing to bet if we had wind chills figured into the equation it would tell us more. But, no matter how you look at it, fourteen percent is significant, especially for those who are heating with electric. Please take the following facts into consideration when reviewing your winter electric bills.

• The Average Daily High was 10 degrees colder this January when compared to last January
• The increase in estimated heating needs was more than 14% higher than last January
• There was a 3% rate increase at the beginning of January

The following are a couple of ideas to reduce heating demand:

Install A Programmable Thermostat: While you're at work and school, homes often set empty. A programmable thermostat allows you to control the temperature in your home based on your family's schedule and can help reduce heating costs.

Regulate Temperatures Room-by-Room: Most people don't use the entire home all of the time, and some rooms are almost never used. Rooms that are rarely used, like guest bedrooms, can be much cooler than the rest of the house. Make adjustments to the heat register in each room to reduce the amount of heat that is being used. In fact, some rooms are unused the majority of the time. If you have rooms like this, you can almost close the heat register completely and keep the doors to that room closed. Just open the register and the doors when the room is needed again.

For more information on saving energy, please visit: www.iamu.org/Eco?default.htm