VECO calls on public to lessen power usage

CEBU, Philippines - The Visayan Electric Corporation is reminding the public to be vigilant in their use of electricity in their own households amid the apparent power supply shortage in the province, aggravated by the lingering effects of the global financial crisis.

During a recent forum, VECO Vice president for administration and customer services Ricky Lacson said that while they are finding means to normalize the supply and production of energy supply in the growing demand in Cebu , they are asking the public to do their share as well aside from the encouragement they are doing for the bug establishments.

VECO has been advocating tips not only to save energy but also to save on money as they reduce their electric bills.

In a brochure that the company has been releasing, it has the appliances possibly being used in the households and the estimated consumption cost per month. This is to guide the consumers on what appliances have the biggest consumption of electricity and VECO has attached some tips to reduce ones’ bill and energy use.

Ethel Natera, the spokesperson of VECO said that they have distributed the brochure a while ago but they have made certain changes for the recent copies in order to help further more consumers with the scarcity of energy supply in Cebu .

According to the brochure, cooling equipments like airconditioning units consume a lot of energy compared to desk fans or stand fans. 12 hours use for a 1,913 wattage or aircondition uses almost 690 KWH for an entire month. This is greatly higher than an eight-hour use of a desk fan with a 175 wattage that only consumes 42 KWH a month.

For household appliances, water heaters uses the most energy as it reaches up to 720 KWH for an eight hour use a day for a whole month. Other big consumers are Flat Irons, Washing machines and clothes dryer.

Kitchen appliances like Water Dispensers (heater) consume up to 396 KWH for a whole month while freezers and airpots are also top consumers. Cooking equipments such as four-range burners use up to 984 KWH per month for a four-hour use a day.

VECO has advised that to save electricity and on bills, the consumers do not have to sacrifice the comfort they get from their appliances but needs to make sure “to get most of them, avoiding wasteful use of electrical energy.”

The company enumerated some tips like on lighting where the use of low-watt lamps or bulbs is better and to turn off lights when not needed. It is also important to clean lamps regularly to get more light as dirt can lessen the illumination by as much as 50 percent.

Business offices also and factories with a lot of light can deactivate one or two fluorescent fixtures by unscrewing the starters. VECO Vice president Lacson said that they are also continually promoting the use of Compact Fluorescent lights, which have lower energy consumption, longer lifetime and smaller size.

For those using airconditioners, VECO advises to maintain the thermostat setting at a temperature not lower than 23 degrees Celsius and keep door closed at all times. These units should also be located in the coolest side of the rooms. The use of electric fans should also be guided and should be turned off when not needed. Oscillator’s should be locked when needed by one or two people only so that the air would be blown directly without having to wait for the fan to turn completely towards other users.

TV viewing also requires cautiousness as one should limit, if possible, the viewing to the favorite programs instead of continually scanning and unplug the television if not in use. One should also check if the television sets are in good condition as the defective ones need to work longer thus consuming more energy and more on the electricity bill. This goes for other appliances according to VECO.

In ironing clothes, proper amount of water should be applied when dampening of clothes as excessive moisture means needs more electricity to be used. The iron should be turned off also in the last few minutes of the work since it would still be hot to finish of more clothes.

Natera said that these are just some tips that they have given in order t guide the people on how to help save energy and in effect would help them save more on their electric bills.