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Watching Out For You
The mercury is falling, but natural gas prices are rising. Natural gas prices are up more than $.70/MMbtu over last month and electricity prices have followed. Read more |
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Click here to access your My Gateway account. From this link you can check your usage, see payment history and much more. |
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Global Sun Oven®
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A happy and energy-efficient Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is synonymous with food. Lots and lots of food. And all that feasting comes with a big energy price tag, measured not just in the days of slaving over pies and green bean casseroles but also in the kilowatt hours and therms your appliances will expend.
Read more
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You served us.
Now, let us serve you.
This Veterans Day, look for Gateway Energy's Military Discount Program designed to honor the men and women who have given so much to our country.
Read more
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Watching Out For You (continued) |
The increase is not unexpected; November prices are typically higher than those in October (colder weather equals higher demand) and typically top out in January or February.
But this year could be quite different. Each spring, summer and fall, providers pump natural gas into old mines so that they can withdraw their reserves during the winter (kinda like squirrels with nuts). This year, the amount of natural gas in storage is at an all-time record because of three factors: the weak economy, no hurricanes of note in the Gulf and a fairly cool summer.
So, even if you are like us and have a nail driven through your thermostat to prevent others from turning up the heat (and they know who they are), it will still get cold enough for the furnace to pop on. Your natural tendency might be to think that you have to protect yourself from your bill going through the roof this winter. But, the economy is still very weak, plus who knows if we'll have a mild or harsh winter. After all, it wouldn't be the first time the weather forecast was wrong. Heck, weather forecasters struggle to get the weekend right, much less a prediction for the next four months.
The bottom line for you
Fortunately, you have the perfect means to work through this period of conflicting events: purchase natural gas on a variable plan. Variable products allow you to move with the market and, when you determine that prices are trending higher or will fall no further, you can lock in with a fixed-price product.
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Featured Product (continued)
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| When a Global Sun Oven® is focused on the sun, the interior of the oven
can heat to over 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Direct and reflected sunlight
enters the oven chamber through the glass door, which is then turned
into heat energy. This heat input causes the temperature inside the
oven to rise until the heat loss of the oven is equal to the solar heat
gain. The light energy absorbed by the oven's dark interior...more |
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Energy-Saving Tips (continued) |
While today's kitchen appliances are almost 50 percent more energy efficient than their counterparts of just 10 years ago, all that extra usage they get around the holidays can still add up. You're probably using your oven and microwave to cook and reheat meal after meal and your dishwasher to get all those countless loads clean. Add in family members gaping into the open fridge and you have a recipe for high energy bills.
The good news is that there's still plenty of time to take a few simple steps to keep your family full and your bills manageable.
Your oven
- A cold oven is OK.
You don't need to preheat your oven when roasting the turkey. Since roasting means cooking at lower temps for a long time, you can stuff the bird and put it in the cold oven. Just remember to turn the oven on and take those giblets out!
- Leave that bird alone. Opening and closing the oven door to check on the turkey or pick at the crispy skin can lower the oven's internal temperature by up to 25 degrees. That means your oven has to work harder to come back up to temperature. Plus, it will take longer for the bird to get done. Instead, use the oven light and window; that's what they're there for.
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Cook in combo. If you have a big enough oven, slide those vegetable, sweet potato and crispy stuffing dishes in toward the end of the turkey-cooking time. Just make sure to give each dish space so air can circulate.
- Keep it hot. Once the bird comes out and the oven's still up to temp, utilize the residual heat and slide in desserts or side dishes that just need a quick warm-up.
- Materials matter.
If you use glass or ceramic cookware such as CorningWare, you can turn the oven temperature down by 25 degrees. These materials are good conductors of heat and will cook your foods in the same amount of time, but at lower temps.
- Store the heat. Electric ovens and cook tops store heat longer. So, you can turn the temperature off several minutes sooner than the recipe calls for and your food will continue to cook.
Your cook top
- Make a match.
The size of your burners should dictate the size of your pots. Using a too-small pot on a too-big heating element can send up to 40 percent wasted energy into the air. So, use a 6-inch pot on a 6-inch burner.
- Keep it clean. It goes without saying that you need to mop up spills immediately. Cooking on gunked-up burners or dirty reflectors is a waste of energy, since you may need to turn the heat up even more to get the food to cook. Another tip: if your cook top uses reflectors, buy the best you can. Top-of-the-line reflectors can save you a third of the energy needed to heat food.
Your microwave, electric skillet and slow cooker
Your oven doesn't have to be the only appliance that gets a workout on Thanksgiving. Utilize your microwave, slow cooker or skillet, too. All these appliances use less power and throw less heat than your oven will.
- Microwave. A microwave uses about 50 percent less energy than an oven, so cook your vegetables in here. You can always transfer them to the oven to carmelize the marshmallows on the yams right before serving. And, of course, use the microwave when you want that leftover turkey plate during the second football game.
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Electric skillet. Another great way to steam veggies, make creamed potatoes or cakes. Some skillets are even pretty enough to serve in.
- Slow cooker. Think outside the oven, especially if you have a small family. You can cook a turkey breast (stuffed with rice and dried fruit) plus all the veggie trimmings in one inexpensive place. A slow cooker can cook an entire meal for about 17 cents worth of electricity, on average.
Your outdoor grill or fryer
Think outside the box, the box that is your house. Instead of roasting the turkey in the oven, grill it or deep fry it. Yes, there is no turkey aroma wafting through the house, and yes, you may need a little "help" (in the form of a jar) to make enough gravy. But think of all the energy you'll save. Note: Follow all safety directions regarding your grill or deep fryer. Too many holiday accidents occur because of inattention to safety.
Your dishwasher
Using your dishwasher can be very economical: one full load of dishes requires 37 percent less water when cleaned in a dishwasher instead of by hand. Use the energy-saving cycle whenever you can. Using an air-dry or overnight-dry setting can save up to 10 percent of your dishwasher's energy cost.
If you prefer to save water and want to wash by hand, fill your sinks and don't let the water run. You'll use half as much water as a dishwasher.
Your fridge
All that opening and closing of fridge doors takes a toll on your energy bills. Your fridge can account for up to 15 percent of your total energy usage. You can maximize efficiency by keeping the door closed and the fridge/freezer full. If you must take out many items, do it quickly in one shot and keep the door open the whole time. Opening and closing the door over and over makes the fridge run less efficiently. Keep both fridge and freezer fully stocked, which isn't hard to do over the holidays. The more cold items you have inside, the more the cold is contained in that space. Just don't overdo it; you want air to circulate around your food, keeping it cold.
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Energy News (continued) |
If you are active U.S. military or reserve personnel, an honorably discharged U.S. veteran, or a surviving spouse or parent of U.S. military personnel, you can get a 5% discount on Gateway's monthly variable rate for natural gas and electricity for your home.
"I can think of no better day on which to make this announcement than on November 11, the day when our nation recognizes and honors the service and sacrifice of these brave men and women," said President and CEO Steve Maslak. "The armed services have given Gateway some of our best and brightest employees. This 5% benefit is our way of saying thank you."
If you are already a Gateway customer
on a Variable-Rate Plan, you can sign up for this program by calling us and sending us your proof of military status. If you are a Gateway customer on a Fixed-Rate Plan, you can roll your account to a Variable-Rate Plan once your term expires and then send us your proof of military status. Proof of military status includes either a copy of your active military ID (front and back) or your military discharge papers (DD form 214 or similar).
You may even be eligible for Gateway's special sign-up incentive
, our Visa prepaid card worth up to $75 depending on how many new services you sign up. If you live in an area where Gateway provides both natural gas and electricity and you sign up both services for the first time, you can get a prepaid card worth $75. If Gateway offers only one service in your area (just natural gas or electricity), you can get a prepaid card worth $50 for a new sign up. If you are a current customer, you're eligible for the incentive only if you have one service and sign up for the other. Call us to find out your eligibility.
Gateway Energy counts veterans from all branches of the military among its employees. Several have served in wartime, including Vietnam, Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Some continue to serve through participation in the Reserves.
"We know how difficult it can be for soldiers and their families," said Bill Cateno, Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing and Air Force Vietnam-era veteran. "It can be hard for a young soldier to come home from a tour of duty and establish credit. It can be draining for a spouse to support the family while their loved one is deployed. It can be frightening for a widow to make ends meet on a small stipend.
"Many companies offer discounts to active or retired military," said Cateno. "Our research shows that we are the only energy marketer who offers an
across-the-board benefit plan to all military. It's the least we can do for the men and women who serve us at home, abroad and right here at Gateway."
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