Taking Control of Your Energy Bill Is Just a Click Away With PECO’s Customizable Tools

What if you could save money on your next utility bill just by answering some customized questions about the size of your home, your heating source, and the types of appliances you own? That is the reality when you start using the interactive energy saving tools on PECO’s updated website. If you don’t have an online account yet, PECO has made it easy and — dare we say? — fun to start saving when you log on and customize your settings.

In fewer than five minutes, you can learn important information about how you use energy so you can start reducing your usage and lowering your future utility bills. You can even anticipate your next bill in real time. You can also learn what may be causing you to use more energy than necessary and get customized tips to lower your consumption — all with a few easy clicks on your computer or smartphone.

PECO’s redesigned, simplified website features a collection of convenient and easy tools for customers to help them take control of their energy usage, and lower the cost of heating and cooling their homes and even businesses. By understanding what might be driving up usage aside from those recent frigid temperatures, then making small adjustments, customers can save money on their bills.

“Affordability and convenience are our customers’ main focus,” Sabrina Brooks, PECO’s director of customer strategy and governance, said. “Just by clicking on a few boxes, answering some questions, and taking a few energy saving steps, you can save money on your future utility bills.”

“Customers need to know we are focused on affordability and helping them feel empowered to know what their bill is going to look like and why.”

Customers can now do all this and more through the My Account section. It’s even easier to manage your usage and costs when you download the app, Brooks said. “You can sign up to get alerts on how to manage usage, what to expect in your next bill, and find ways to lower the cost of running your home.”

PECO has updated the website to help customers better understand their energy usage and put them in the driver’s seat when it comes to managing their energy usage, she said. The benefits of a customized experience offers customers real opportunities to save energy and manage their future bills.

The seamless experience starts by going to PECO.com/self-service and creating an account at the My Account section. “That is the holistic center of everything a customer might need to interact with us,” Brooks said. Most customers use the website in three ways: to pay a bill, to report a power outage, and to schedule a move. Yet they can achieve so much more by using PECO’s self-service page — cost savings, in particular.

The first time you log in, you’ll be asked individualized questions like:

Each question offers multiple-choice answers and includes important clarifications such as: How old are your major appliances? (New energy-saving fridges and washer-dryers can run on less electricity.) If you feel drafts coming in through windowsills during the cold months, is it because the caulking is old or inadequate? Your answers allow PECO to suggest “customized tips” to help you remedy potential problems and save you money every month.

One such tip: At what temperature is your water heater set? Your water heater usage can account for 20% of your bill. Anything hotter than 120 degrees may waste heating energy. Turning the temperature down may help you save 22% of your water heating costs.

Other helpful tips: To save money, put motion detectors on your lights and use wall or lamp dimmers. If your house is empty during the day, turn the thermostat down; every degree you lower your thermostat by can save you 5% on your monthly bill.

My Account: Customers can now do all this and more through the My Account section on PECO’s website. It’s even easier to manage your usage and costs when you download the app. “You can sign up to get alerts on how to manage usage, what to expect in your next bill, and find easy, inexpensive ways to lower the cost of running your home,” Brooks said. Some examples of energy-saving changes include caulking drafty windows and switching to LED lightbulbs.

“PECO has made an investment because we want our customers to have a world-class experience when they interact with PECO,” Brooks, who has been with the company for 25 years, said. “But sometimes we need to remind them it’s there and to use it.”

So what can you find on PECO’s website? Colorful, easy-to-use videos and tools; customizable sliders; short surveys to help you make decisions about your energy sources, depending on whether or not you live within Philadelphia city limits; and tips to lower your costs.

There are heating comparison charts to compare the different costs of energy sources such as natural gas (for those who live outside the city), oil, and propane. There’s also an interactive survey about whether solar panels might be right for you.

Plus, you’ll find easy tips for lowering your heating bill. For instance, opening your curtains during the day to let sunlight in can heat your rooms naturally. (Close the curtains at night to help insulate your home against drafts.) Or, you may be surprised to learn that using a space heater can add unnecessary costs to your bill because these appliances require more electricity to run than simply turning up the thermostat.

Elsewhere on PECO’s website, you can also find out if you would benefit from having an energy assessment. If you choose to schedule one, an expert will come to your home for a $49 fee and bring LED bulbs, which save $80 over the life of the bulb; new power strips, which are more efficient than older models; and look for affordable improvements that will save you money over time. They might, for instance, assess the draftiness of your windows or the insulation in your attic.

“If you only go to PECO’s website to pay your bill, check outages, or schedule a move, then you are missing out on these types of opportunities to save,” Brooks said.

If customers encounter a difficult-to-navigate website, or have to click too many times to find what they want, they will abandon their efforts, Brooks explained. By creating a seamless online experience for customers, PECO has made it easy to pay bills and more on the My Account section and by downloading the app.

You can choose to get alerts about your home’s current usage (e.g., Is your bill running a little higher than last month?) and other factors that could be driving up your upcoming payment, like when the weather is crushingly cold. Brooks, who has a background in financial planning, said this helps customers anticipate their next bill and take control of their financial planning. “It’s empowering to help customers not only manage their utilities but bring down their costs,” she said.

“This is a really important topic because PECO has made an investment in creating a website that offers a world-class customer experience and we want to remind customers to use it,” Brooks said. “I do have a passion around that, because customers should be able to afford their utility bills and whatever else is going on in their lives.”

On the website, there are self-service tools available to automate paying your bills, such as eBill and AutoPay. With eBill, you can receive digital notifications when your bill is ready to view online. The service is accessible 24/7. AutoPay provides the convenience and the peace of mind of having bills paid automatically. Both eBill and AutoPay are free tools that can be customized to best meet your needs and preferences.

The tools on PECO’s website include a Heat Comparison Chart, for those who reside outside of city limits, to help them determine if they are a candidate for natural gas, by analyzing the type of home they live in and the temperature at which the thermostat is set, among other factors.

One can also try the Solar Calculator to consider whether they could save by adding solar panels. Another section offers easy tips to lower utilities usage and save money and energy. For instance, LED bulbs can save $80 over their lifetime, and lowering one’s thermostat a single degree can lower one’s monthly bill by 5%.

“We want it to make handling utility costs convenient for our customers,” Brooks said. “If they use these tips and tools, they won’t have to call and say, ‘Why is my bill so high?’ If they adopt even a few of these changes and habits, they will see changes in their bill,” she said.

“Customers need to know we are focused on affordability and helping them feel empowered to know what their bill is going to look like and why,” Brooks said. “Based on the size of your home and the number of people living there, you can expect certain costs and make decisions that lead to savings. By making small adjustments, you can expect different results,” she said.

“Everyone is seeking comfort. When it’s hot you want to be cool, and when it’s cold you want to be warm. You may be using space heaters and they require a lot of electricity. The most efficient way to heat your home is to use your home’s heat, since anything you plug in is going to contribute to the cost of your bill.

All of these recommendations and more are available on the PECO website in My Account. Here are more amazing tools and resources that you can take advantage of, just by logging in.

LUCY DANZIGER is a journalist, author and the former editor-in-chief of Self magazine, Women Sports & Fitness, and The Beet.