How to ensure your BGE bill doesn’t spike as temperatures top 100

With many Marylanders sweating through a heat wave, it’s natural to want to retreat indoors to a place with air conditioning.

The National Weather Service warns extreme heat will be an issue through the holiday weekend, with temperatures topping 100 degrees on Thursday, Friday and Independence Day. The forecast prompted Gov. Wes Moore to declare a State of Preparedness. Although it is tempting to turn down your thermostat as low as possible, the impact on your electricity bill may make you faint before the heat does.

Higher temperatures push your home’s air-conditioning systems to work harder, and that extra work can cost you and the energy grid at large.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Energy issued a pair of emergency orders in response to projected record strain on the regional power grid.

PJM Interconnection, which operates the power grid for Maryland and a dozen other states, expects demand to surpass 166,000 megawatts Thursday. That would exceed the previous peak demand reached in 2006.

One of the emergency orders allows PJM power plants to bypass certain environmental requirements to run at max capacity, while the other calls for data centers and other large customers to rely on backup generators, if necessary.

PJM saw stable demand over most of the last two decades, but an explosion of data centers has placed new stress on the system.

While officials do what they can to ensure the regional grid withstands the next couple of days, here’s what you can do at home to lessen the likelihood of spikes to your power bill.

Keep cool air in and heat out

The U.S. Department of Energy recommends installing window coverings to prevent heat from getting through. Additionally, you should caulk or weather-strip doors and windows to ensure cracks and openings are sealed.

Kelly Speakes-Backman, director of the Maryland Energy Administration, suggests closing all blinds, shutting your garage door, covering your air conditioner condenser with tarp and turning house fans counterclockwise.

“That pulls the hot air up and away from you,” she said.

If it’s not in use, cut it loose

Electronics — such as TVs and laptops — and appliances, including toasters, should be unplugged when not in use to preserve energy and reduce your power bill.

Even when you’re not using them, devices use energy that’s costing you on the back end. The Maryland Energy Administration found a plasma TV, gaming system and laptop, respectively, cost $159.76, $25.73 and $15.90 annually when they are left plugged in.

This also applies to lights and ceiling fans. Turn them off in rooms you’re not occupying, officials suggest.

Adjust the thermostat … up

According to Baltimore Gas and Electric, 78 degrees is the recommended temperature setting during the summer. Reducing the difference between the temperature outdoors and inside your home significantly helps with your cooling bill, according to the DOE.

“When it’s 100 degrees outside, you don’t need like a 35-degree delta between your inside and outside,” Speakes-Backman said.

Do the morning tasks at night

Your oven, stove, dishwasher and dryer are major heat-generating appliances. BGE recommends holding off on using them until after 9 p.m.

This means possibly meal-prepping lunch and dinner and popping the utensils you used into the dishwasher the night before instead of in the morning.

Banner reporter Adam Willis contributed to this story.