PUEBLO, CO. – Jan. 9, 2023 – Tomorrow (January 10) is National Cut Your Energy Costs Day and Black Hills Energy is taking this opportunity to encourage its customers to adopt an energy savings pledge as part of their New Year’s resolution-setting this year. The purpose of the energy savings campaign is to help customers and their families make smart energy choices at home, so they better recognize and are more mindful of how their daily actions impact energy use, and ultimately energy costs.

With energy usage making up the largest portion of energy bills, a series of small actions — like turning the lights off when you leave a room or running full loads of laundry — can make an impact on monthly energy bills. In fact, according to Energy.gov, turning your thermostat down seven to 10 degrees could save as much as 10 percent on heating and cooling costs.

Examples of an energy savings pledge could include:

• I pledge to turn the lights off every time I leave a room
• I pledge to switch to LED light bulbs
• I pledge to turn off and unplug small appliances or electronics when they’re not in use to reduce phantom energy
• I pledge to change out my air filters every three months to keep my AC and furnace running smoothly
• I pledge to upgrade to a programmable thermostat, so I have better control over indoor temperatures*; Black Hills Energy recommends setting your thermostat to 68°F while you’re awake — or at least for eight hours a day — and even lower while you sleep, if you can manage
• I pledge to only run full loads of laundry and dishes, so these large appliances are using less energy and water
• I pledge to upgrade older appliances to Energy Star ones, if it makes sense for my family*

_{*Black Hills Energy has rebates available to help offset upgrades.}

“The New Year is the perfect time to set actionable, realistic goals,” said Patti Olenick, Black Hills Energy’s energy efficiency coordinator. “By joining our energy savings pledge, we hope our customers will make taking control of their energy bills one of their top resolutions. In return, we pledge to continue partnering with our customers in 2023 to provide them with energy savings tips and ideas, all while continuing to deliver the reliable, safe and clean energy our customers rely on.”

We encourage customers to share their 2023 energy savings pledges and tag the company on our Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or Twitter.

Visit blackhillsenergy.com/TeamReady for more energy savings tips or DIY projects to better conserve energy at home.