VALDOSTA — As the weather turns cold and winter winds blow, seniors will face additional challenges finding ways to stay warm.

“We’re seeing an 8 percent increase in disconnects for non-payment,” stated Marshall Conner, Georgia Power’s assistant to the regional vice president, “but 65 percent of Georgia Power disconnects make payments and are reconnected within a few days. It’s important for customers to contact Georgia Power as soon as possible if they’re having trouble paying their bill. We don’t want to cut people off if they’re trying to pay.

“The trend from 1991-2003 was for electricity prices to decrease,” Conner stated. “Since 2003, prices have gone up probably 35 percent. 27-28 percent of that price increase is due to increased fuel costs. Global demand for coal in places like India and China has caused the price of coal to double since last year. Natural gas is also up 50 percent, and the same applies to nuclear fuel.”

He added that the best thing consumers can do to save on their electric bill is to set their thermostats at 68 degrees. For every additional degree, consumers are looking at a 3-5 percent increase in usage. Setting thermostats at 75 degrees, for example, increases usage 21 to 35 percent.

“Georgia Power participates with the Salvation Army in a continuing emergency assistance program called Project Share,” Conner said. “For each dollar a customer donates, Georgia Power will contribute matching funds. All money contributed will be forwarded to the Salvation Army unit where the customer lives. The Salvation Army in turn will distribute the funds to needy people within the county. People who qualify can receive assistance in paying utility bills, purchasing food, paying medical bills, etc.”

Georgia Power customers wanting to participate can make a one-time donation or can establish a monthly installment for any amount, Conner said. Customers can sign up for the program by filling out the Project Share information included in their bill or by enrolling at www.georgiapower.com. Approximately 39,000 Georgia Power customers contribute to Project Share, bringing the 2007 customer and company contributions to $2.3 million.

Bruce Bailey, energy conservation adviser for Colquitt EMC, said, “Cutoffs occur more often during periods of extreme temperatures because that’s when people get unexpectedly high bills.”

Regarding ways customers can save on energy costs, Bailey stated, “It’s a good idea to change air filters regularly. A dirty filter impedes air-flow. A certain amount of air must flow through the system for it to run efficiently. Clean filters reduce motor load on fans, which reduces energy usage and ultimately, cost.

“Insulating exposed pipes, especially the two or three feet of pipe leading directly from the water heater, is another good idea,” Bailey said. “The cold water pipe acts as a heat sink, drawing heat away from the water heater and causing it to activate more often. That’s why it’s best to insulate both hot and cold water pipes.

He said, “Programmable thermostats also help keep costs down. It’s a good idea to do setbacks of the thermostat because the house doesn’t need to be as warm when people are at work or sleeping, and especially at night because that’s when temperatures drop the most.”

Frequently changing the thermostat increases energy costs. Homes using heat pumps have two heating systems, Bailey explained. The primary system uses a principle similar to air-conditioning. The second system will use twice the energy as the primary.

Changing the thermostat more than three degrees puts the secondary system to use.

“Heat pumps use a refrigerant the same as an air-conditioning system,” Bailey pointed out. “If the refrigerant is low, the pumps can’t transfer heat as well.

“Another thing we routinely find during an energy audit is that the temperature on the water heater is set too high. Turning up the temperature on the water heater only wastes energy and doesn’t increase the amount of hot water available,” Bailey said.

Concerning local agencies that offer help with home heating bills, Jane Osborn, director for 2-1-1 of South Central Georgia, said, “ LAMP can help with some utility bills, but they have some regulations restricting them that are related to whether or not the folks have lost income or not and they have to have a cutoff notice.