PHILADELPHIA (May 12, 2025) – With the official start of summer next month, PECO has been hard at work ensuring the company's critical electric infrastructure is prepared to handle increased demand as temperatures heat up with the changing season. This proactive effort also includes infrastructure work to strengthen the local energy grid to help prevent those outages that can be prevented and to reinforce the grid against the increasing impacts of severe summer storms.
Prior to the summer months, PECO works to prepare its infrastructure and test processes and procedures to ensure safe and reliable service all summer long when energy demand is the highest. This includes completing hundreds of tasks to prepare for the summer season, such as system work to enhance capacity and prevent outages, testing and drills to keep storm response skills sharp, and proactive shift planning to ensure crews are ready to respond to severe summer storms or emergencies. This work coincides with PECO’s robust inspection and maintenance program to identify and correct any issues before outages occur.
This effort to ready this grid is part of PECO’s $9.3 billion investment during the next five years across its electric and natural gas systems to complete targeted system enhancements and corrective maintenance, invest in new equipment, inspect equipment, and perform necessary tree trimming and other vegetation management. Continued infrastructure investments will also help the company meet the growing energy demands of customers and support future growth and development. This investment includes PECO’s Reliability & Resiliency Plan, which outlines the investment of $1.36 billion on targeted reliability-focused electric system infrastructure investments through 2025.
“We are always focused on delivering safe and reliable service for our customers, especially during peak seasonal temperatures when customers are relying on us to help keep their homes and businesses comfortable,” said Nicole LeVine, PECO SVP and COO. “PECO’s summer 2024 reliability performance was better than historical four-year averages, which underscores the fact that these significant investments and use of innovative technologies are providing positive impacts for our customers.”
Just as PECO prepares for summer, customers should prepare too. While PECO works to prevent as many outages as possible, severe storms can cause damage and power outages. Visit peco.com/storm for important storm readiness resources, including how to prepare for an approaching storm, how to properly use generators if power is lost, what to expect after storms, and how to stay safe.
Summer is the time of year when customers use the most energy to cool their homes and businesses, and more usage will drive higher bills. There are many ways customers can use less energy to save money through the hottest days of the year by following a few simple tips:
- Turn it off: Turn off all unnecessary lighting and devices.
- Manage your thermostat: Keep thermostats at a constant, comfortable level when at home and increase by 7 degrees when no one is home. Start with an indoor temperature between 75-78 degrees during the day. Install a programmable thermostat to automatically adjust your home's temperature settings when you are away or sleeping.
- Keep shades, blinds and curtains closed: In the summer, consider closing window coverings to reduce heat gain. For natural light, open those window coverings that don’t get direct sunlight.
- Use ceiling fans to circulate air: Ceiling fans are the most effective type of circulating fan. They help improve comfort year-round by effectively circulating air throughout a room. In summer, run ceiling fans counterclockwise to create a cooling breeze.
- Service your AC: Make sure to replace or clean the air filters for your cooling system at least once a month (or as often as recommended by the manufacturer) and have your system serviced regularly. It can lower your air conditioner's energy consumption by 5-15 percent.
- Choose Energy-Efficient Products: When buying new cooling equipment, select energy-efficient products. Look for the ENERGY STAR label when purchasing new products.
- Weatherize Your Home: Reducing the amount of air that leaks in and out of your home is a cost-effective way to reduce cooling costs and increase comfort.
- Use appliances wisely: Run appliances that produce heat (like clothes dryers, ovens, and dishwashers) at night when it is cooler.
Customers can learn more about their bill, how to track usage, and explore energy efficiency and assistance programs at peco.com/BillSupport.
