With a little planning, Aprilee Peña, a Gilbert mother of three, will save money on her energy bills this summer, while keeping cool and comfortable. The Peña family is one of more than 100,000 customers who are already on the SRP EZ-3™ Price Plan. Last year, the Peña’s saved close to $300 by limiting energy use during just three hours on weekdays.
“We love the EZ-3 Price Plan. It is family friendly and easy to save,” said Peña. “We’re on a monthly budget and as a family we work together to keep within that budget, so from 3 to 6 p.m. during the week, we are careful with our power use.”
EZ-3 helps customers save on their energy bills when they plan ahead and use less energy during three, higher-cost on-peak hours – either 3 to 6 p.m. or 4 to 7 p.m. on weekdays when energy costs more to produce. The rest of the hours, including weekends and six holidays are off-peak and priced lower. For the Peña family, using a programmable thermostat to precool the home yields needed savings.
“I plan ahead to keep the house comfortable by precooling. It is very easy to do with a programmable thermostat. I lower the temperature before the three hours, and then raise it from 3 to 6 p.m. By 3 p.m., my air conditioner barely runs,” said Peña. “And if we really want to cool off, we jump in the pool or go out for a bit, and return in time for the AC to kick in again at 6 p.m.”
The 30-year old mother says her crockpot is her “best friend” during the summer months because it allows her to cook meals ahead of time and keep the oven turned off so the kitchen isn’t hot. Also, to save money during the 3 to 6 p.m. time frame, she doesn’t use the dishwasher, dryer or any large appliance. Aprilee says the extra cash is spent for summer vacations and their savings have convinced many friends to switch to
EZ-3.
“Customers who save on EZ-3 see an average savings of 5.5 percent annually on their electric bill,” said Cindy Marzofka, SRP’s director of marketing and brand management. “The EZ-3 Price Plan is a great option for any customer who can plan ahead and limit energy use during three on-peak weekday hours — either 3 to 6 p.m. or 4 to 7 p.m.”
SRP customers can try the EZ-3 Price Plan for 90 days. If the first three bills exceed what would have been paid on the residential Basic Price Plan, they can call SRP within 30 days of the third bill to be credited the difference and returned to the Basic plan at no charge. To learn more, go to srpnet.com/EZ3savings or call (602) 236-8888.
