Mar. 9--As the summer approaches, Yumans won't just notice a higher temperature. Most will see a rise in their utility bill.

And that pinch in the wallet is most likely because of cooling costs, said representatives with Arizona Public Service (APS), which provides power to the Yuma area, including 46,000 in the city. But there are tips that can help make a difference in a utility bill.

Web content manager Cathy Winstanley said cooling can account for 50 to 70 percent of a summer electric bill. She said it helps to set the home's thermostat at 79 degrees or higher. Every degree warmer, she said, saves 2 to 3 percent on the cooling portion of an electric bill.

"It's pretty important," Winstanley said.

Web manager Donald Case said his family took tips from the company's Web site, aps.com, and it helped his family save money.

One of the tips Case used: turning off ceiling fans when you're not in the room.

"It's a huge, huge difference in the cooling cost," Case said.

Case said now his family uses the fans "more intelligently," but "it took a bit of (a) lifestyle change to get used to."

Winstanley said some homes with four to six fans can save approximately $10 a month per fan, and with five fans, that's $50 off the bill.

"Once we started seeing savings in the way we changed our lifestyle, we started looking for more," Case said.

He said using new energy-efficient light bulbs can also help save money.

And it's not just for adults in the house, he said. Families can involve children by encouraging them to help turn off lights, fans, televisions and computers when they leave the room.

Turning the AC up and turning lights and fans off may be obvious to some users, but Case said there's also "phantom energy," energy that's used by appliances plugged in all the time, such as microwaves, alarm clocks and printers.

"You're talking about pennies a week," Winstanley said. "But (it makes a difference) when you think about all the little devices that we have in our home that we didn't have five years ago."

The key is to know how much energy you're using and which rate plan accommodates your lifestyle, said Maria Arellano, APS spokeswoman.

The Web site has several ways to monitor just how much energy is being used.

First, customers can keep track of their monthly usage online.

The "energy analyzer" can help figure out how much and what type of energy is being used. It can also compare the type of home with other, similar households.

There's also the "rate comparison" feature that helps customers pick which plan is best for them. APS offers several plans that have various rates at different times of the day.

Just changing a rate plan won't automatically save money, though. It will take monitoring the usage and making lifestyle changes.

But "any rate used wisely can save you money," Winstanely said.

Case said it's nice when you start incorporating the tips and track your usage history.

"You can actually see it benefit you," Case said.

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