Local News in Brief : Countywide : Tips on Cooling Home Can Pare Electric Bill

San Diego Gas & Electric Co. officials are warning their south county customers to moderate their air-conditioning usage in order to avoid an abnormally high utility bill in the next month.

Utility company officials said Tuesday that many of their customers have chosen to run their air conditioners full blast for hours at a time during the unusually high temperatures this month. As a result, they said, energy bills will be much higher for some customers.

Utility spokesman Dick Whitton suggested that customers set their thermostat on 78 degrees as a first major cost-saving step. A setting of 78 degrees instead of 73 degrees, for example, saves up to 20% on the operating costs of air-conditioning systems, Whitton explained.

Other ways to save energy include:

* Open windows during the evening and early-morning hours to take advantage of cool outside air.

* Use portable fans to circulate air. A fan costs only 2 cents of electricity per hour, compared to 56 cents for an air conditioner.

* Draw blinds and drapes during the day to block the sun’s rays from heating your home.

* Allow bushes and trees to shade the south side of your home, which has the greatest exposure to sun.

For additional energy-saving tips, SDG&E; customers in Orange County can call (714) 495-6181 to obtain a free copy of: “Home Cooling: How Keeping Cool Can Cost You Less.”