With the heat getting turned up this week in Saskatchewan, SaskPower is reminding residents of a few tips to keep them and their power bills cool.

Scott McGregor, a spokesperson for SaskPower, said that with hotter temperatures incoming, energy efficiency is essential to promote. 

“One of the most important things that you can do is make sure your heating and cooling equipment in your house is operating as efficiently and as properly as possible and get those routinely inspected.”

He said that investing in a programmable or smart thermostat is not only a way to keep cool but will help residents save money in the long term.

“This will ensure that your house is being heated or cooled during the only times that it needs to be,” he said. “There is no point in having your air conditioning blasting full when you are not at home. Letting your house kind of raise or lower depending on if you are going to be home or not, or awake or not, is certainly something that can chip away at your power bill.”

With the province being one-year removed from a massive heat dome that broke consumption records for the crown corporation, McGregor said that they expect to see more demand this summer.

“We are anticipating to see an increase in demand, as we do whenever the temperature goes very high and also very low. If you lived in one of those very hot heat domes that last for a while without air conditioning, it certainly is a pretty powerful motivator to invest in air conditioning, so we are anticipating that we will an increase in demand.”

McGregor notes that there are plenty of ways people can save some money on their power bills this summer.

• Make sure your blinds and window coverings are closed during the day
• Your doors and windows are closed and properly sealed
• Delaying doing an activity that would increase moisture like laundry or doing your dishes till the evening
• Make sure your lights are turned off when you leave the room

He adds that people can visit SaskPower’s website for more information on what residents can do to save power.