July 2020

Prepare Your Home for the Summer

The weather is heating up, but you can prevent it from burning through your bank account. There are plenty of ways to cut cooling costs without wasting energy. Here are a few helpful tips:

  • If you have air conditioning, set it to 78 degrees or higher. Even a couple degrees can add up to significant energy savings!
  • Close drapes and blinds on the sunny side of your home throughout the day. Shutting out the sunlight can lower the temperature and keep your cooling system from working harder than needed.
  • One of the easiest and best ways to regulate your home’s temperature is to react to the temperature outside. The summer days are coolest from around dusk to dawn, making it the best time open up the windows. Allow for cross ventilation to maximize the cooler air intake of your home whenever possible. Make sure to keep safety in mind by blocking open windows to prevent falls. A screen is never strong enough.
  • Limit cooking indoors during hot hours of the day. The heat from your appliances can noticeably raise the temperature of your home.
  • Ditch incandescent lights and switch to LEDs, these use a fraction of the energy and produce much less heat.
  • Add awnings, bamboo, or vinyl blinds to windows that are in direct sunlight.
  • Use portable fans and ceiling fans or your furnace fan for a draft. This doesn’t change the temperature but it does help you feel cooler.
  • If you buy a portable air conditioner, be sure it is Energy Star certified.

Scams Targeting Utility Customers

Fraudsters are targeting Clark Public Utilities residential and business customers, claiming to be a utility employee and threatening disconnection unless a payment is made immediately. This is a SCAM.

The utility has currently stopped all disconnections due to the coronavirus pandemic response and calls threatening disconnection are not from Clark Public Utilities.

These calls can be very convincing—our utility’s name and phone number might be spoofed to appear on the caller ID, the automated system may sound just like ours— but these calls are fake.

Do not make a payment if you receive this kind of call. Hang up and call us right away at 360-992-3000. Please spread the word about these scams.

Wasted Water is Money Down the Drain

During the warm, dry summer months, we tend to use more water to stay cool and keep our landscaping looking great. This time of year our water bills tend to rise, but it’s possible to keep your property lush and colorful without breaking the bank! We’re here to help with a few tips to water in an affordable and efficient way:

  • Use sprinklers with low application rates to avoid overwatering your lawn. Most lawns only require an inch of water per week. Adjust sprinkler heads and avoid watering pavement or siding. When water runs onto the sidewalk or driveway it goes to waste. Minimize evaporation by watering lawns and gardens in the early morning or evening when it’s cool.
  • If the forecast calls for rain, shut off automatic timers on sprinklers. Watering lawns and gardens on rainy days and can harm your landscaping by over-saturating the soil.
  • Spread compost or bark chips into flower beds and other landscaping to help the soil retain moisture and cut back on watering needs.
  • Plant native plants to substantially reduce watering needs. Native plants are used to our climate and, once they’re established in a site, require little if any more water than what nature provides. Plus, they create healthy habitat for local wildlife and important pollinators.

Check Out Our Live Osprey Cam!

Whether you’re a nature lover or a person who’s watched everything on your television watch-list, Clark Public Utilities has something for you!

Our new Osprey Cam offers a live worldwide broadcast of Clark County’s most famous avian family 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Check in at the right time and you may be lucky enough to see mom or dad fly home a fresh fish to share with their chicks, the baby birds rolling around in the sun, or those hardworking parents making improvements to the family nest.

To view the live feed, simply visit Youtube.com and search “ClarkPUD Osprey” and click the video at the top of the page.

Currents Now Available Online in Russian and Spanish

Para ver una versión en español de este boletín, visite nuestro sitio web.

Если вы хотите прочесть данную брошюру на русском языке, пожалуйста, посетите наш сайт.

Recognizing that Spanish and Russian are the second and third most spoken languages in Clark County, respectively, we’re offering our newsletter in both languages on the Currents page of our website.