Message From General Manager – January 2025

Resolve To Save Energy in 2025

The start of the new year always seems to bring about lists for improving one’s life. You know: lose weight, stop smoking, exercise more—conserve electricity.

That last 1 might not be on your list, but it can be just as important as any personal health goal, both to your financial bottom line and the overall health of our cooperative and the state’s electricity system.

When temperatures are moderate, there’s an adequate supply of electricity to serve Texas’ needs, according to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the grid operator for 85% of the state. However, as the vicious winter storm of 2021 demonstrated, with more extreme conditions, there could be a shortfall.

But if we all do our part and make energy conservation a habit, we may be able to avoid outages.

As 1 saying goes, it takes 21 days to create a new habit. During that time, it may take a conscious effort to change your behavior—for instance, remembering to switch off lights as you leave a room.

But you’ll likely find, after a few repetitions of a new behavior, you eventually won’t even have to think about it. You’ll turn off the lights automatically.

Here are other energy-saving resolutions that you might consider for 2025.

• Unplug computers, TVs and phone chargers, plus the coffee maker and other kitchen countertop appliances, when you’re through using them. These items draw electricity as long as they’re plugged in, even if they’re turned off. Collectively, their energy use adds up.
• If any of the overhead fixtures, table lamps, or outdoor lights around your house still have those old, inefficient incandescent light bulbs, change them to LEDs, which use significantly less power.
• Explore LED fixtures. The light is built into the fixture— for all kinds of decorative and task lighting. With no bulbs to burn out, the light works as long as the fixture does. They aren’t as cheap as other options, but prices are dropping. In the long run, they’ll pay for themselves.
• Install a programmable thermostat. Use it to lower the heat by a few degrees once the family leaves the house every day and to raise it back up just before everybody gets home. You won’t feel any less comfortable at home, but you’ll notice a dip in your bill.

If everyone in Fannin Electric Cooperative’s membership embraced just 1 or 2 of these ideas or took other energy-efficiency measures, the effect would be magnified by our entire membership. And if everyone in Texas embraced even the simplest of these ideas, like turning off unused lights, it could add up to significant savings and would help keep the lights on for all of us.