Company offers customer tips to save energy and money during current heat wave

PHILADELPHIA (July 18, 2019) – PECO continues to restore service to those customers impacted by last night's severe storm. While this work continues, the company is also prepared to deliver safe and reliable service to customers across the region during this weekend's heatwave, with temperatures expected to reach 100 degrees.

PECO invests hundreds of millions of dollars each year in projects to prepare for heat waves and summer storms. This includes targeted system enhancements, preventive maintenance, tree trimming, and work to modernize the energy grid by installing advanced technology that can automatically restore service more quickly or isolate damage, helping to reduce outages and enhance service for customers.

The company also has enhanced staffing in place to respond to any issues that may occur and will review any planned outages for repair work during the heat wave to reduce the impact on customers.

With the current heat wave expected to continue into next week, PECO provides tips to help customers manage their energy use.

• Turn it off: Turn off all unnecessary lighting and devices.
• Manage your thermostat: Keep thermostats at a constant, comfortable level when at home. Raise the thermostat setting for days of extreme heat to save even more. Install a programmable thermostat to automatically adjust your home's temperature settings when you're away or sleeping.
• Keep shades, blinds, and curtains closed: About 40 percent of unwanted heat comes through windows. Simply closing blinds and curtains, which act as a layer of insulation, can reduce heat in your home.
• Use ceiling fans to circulate air: For those without air conditioning, use ceiling fans or portable fans with the windows partially open to circulate fresh air into your home. For those with air conditioning, fans can be used to evenly distribute cool air.
• Use appliances wisely: Run appliances that produce heat (like clothes dryers, ovens, and dishwashers) at night when it is cooler.

To reduce the impact that high temperatures can have on monthly energy costs, customers also can sign up for Budget Billing. Budget Billing makes short-term fluctuations in monthly bills easier to handle by dividing annual energy costs evenly throughout the year. Customers having trouble managing their bills should contact PECO immediately at 1-800-494-4000.

For more ways to save energy and money visit peco.com/smartideas or call 1-888-5PECO-SAVE.

Customers should always put safety first. Be sure to check on elderly neighbors and relatives without air conditioners during prolonged periods of high temperatures.

PECO urges customers to contact the company immediately if they experience a power outage.

• Customers can easily report issues with their electric service at peco.com/outages using their phone, tablet, or computer, or through PECO's free mobile app. 

• Download PECO's free mobile app to report outages and receive notifications on restoration status. The PECO mobile app is available through the App Store or Google Play.

• Customers can visit peco.com/alerts to choose how they would like to receive information – via text, email, or phone – including when power is out in a specific area, when service is expected to be restored, or when your power is restored.

• PECO also has a two-way texting program for outages. By texting "ADDOUTAGE" to MYPECO (697326), customers can enroll in the program, report outages, and check the status of their outage through text messaging. To use this service a customer's mobile number must be registered with their account.

• Customers still have the option to report their outage by calling PECO directly at 1-800-841-4141.  
  

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PECO, founded in 1881, is Pennsylvania's largest electric and natural gas utility. Headquartered in Philadelphia, PECO delivers energy to more than 1.6 million electric customers and more than 523,000 natural gas customers in southeastern Pennsylvania. The company's 2,700 employees are dedicated to the safe and reliable delivery of electricity and natural gas as well as enhanced energy management conservation, environmental stewardship and community assistance. In 2018, PECO was named to Forbes Magazine's list of Best Employers for Women. The company also has an estimated annual economic impact of $4.8 billion in Pennsylvania, supporting more than 9,000 local jobs and producing $775 million in labor income. PECO is a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), the nation's only Fortune 100 utility and leading competitive energy provider. For more information visit PECO.com, and connect with the company on Facebook and Twitter.

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