BEND, OR -- With temperatures dipping into the teens and twenties, Pacific Power says there are a few things you can do to keep your electric bill from heating up. Tom Gauntt suggests caulking around doors and windows to seal off any leaks. For larger drafts, "You know where the cold wind comes from and you say, ‘Gee, I’ve got a door that faces that cold wind.’ You can go to the store, and they have these nice little things for the bottoms of doors, or makeshift towels or an old rug or something to kind of keep that cold air from coming in."

Try not to heat rooms you aren’t using. "Sometimes it can be simply, ‘You know what? We don’t really use that spare room anymore.’ And you can turn down the heat vent that’s in there," He tells KBND News not to turn heat off where pipes might freeze, "You don’t want to be foolish about it, if there’s some water pipes in the room or something, don’t cause a new problem."

Clean or replace furnace filters and make sure registers and intake vents are clear of furniture, so air can move freely. And, avoid the temptation to turn up the thermostat when it gets colder. Gauntt says it won’t heat your house any faster, "Try to set the thermostat at about 68. That might seem kind of cool to people but, if you can keep it there consistently and you have these other factors taken care of, it should keep you comfortable."

And, avoid relying too heavily on space heaters, "If you have a 1500 watt portable heater running eight hours a day every day, you’re looking at about $30 a month on the bill, right there, Those appliances have their place and we operate them safely and sparingly, it’s fine. But just to say, ‘I’m going to heat the garage all winter using that,’ it’s going to be costly."

Energy Trust of Oregon offers energy efficiency consultations if you need help finding other ways to save on your power bill.