Toronto Hydro-Lert #3 - Keep Cool in the Kitchen with These Energy Saving Recipes

TORONTO, July 17, 2013 /CNW/ - As sweltering temperatures keep Torontonians feeling hot, hot, hot, the last thing on people's minds will be turning on the oven for dinner. Before you blow your budget on take-out, try Toronto Hydro-Electric System Limited ("Toronto Hydro")'s low cook, no cook summer recipes.

From Potato, Corn and Pepper Burritos to Spinach Stuffed Cannelloni, this selection of healthy, low-electricity recipes require little or no cooking at all. Visit torontohydro.com/newsroom for recipes and be sure to watch Toronto Hydro's cooking video for easy, step-by-step instructions on making delicious Rice, Black Bean, Tomato and Corn Salad.

With electricity costs rising right along with the temperature, choosing more efficient ways to cook is an easy way to keep cool and avoid surprises on your bill.  For example, one casserole baked in the oven uses approximately 2kWh of electricity and costs 22 cents. The same casserole baked in the microwave uses 0.35kWh of electricity and costs just 4 cents.

Yesterday's peak in Toronto was 4,574 megawatts (MW) at 5:20 p.m., a record for this year.  This is up from Monday's peak which reached 4,497 MW at 5:39 p.m. Toronto's highest peak demand last year (2012) was on July 17 when electricity usage soared to 4,830 MW.

Prolonged heat waves kick air conditioner use into overdrive, which puts strain on the grid and your wallet. Summer cooling can account for up to 50 per cent of the total summer bill.  Running a central air conditioner for 24 hours at 21 degrees Celsius would cost $8.51 (electricity cost only) versus at 25 degrees Celsius at a cost of $7.60¹.

Beat the peak and try to minimize electricity use during on-peak periods when pricing is higher (weekday afternoons between 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.) Customers can log on to the TOU website to see their usage on an hourly, daily and weekly basis. The data is updated as recent as the day before.

Here are some tips on how to conserve electricity and save money:

• Set the temperature at least one degree higher than you normally would.  Turn it off when you're not at home OR use a programmable thermostat to turn the AC off (or up) during peak times.
• Use a ceiling fan to supplement your AC, you can raise the temperature on your thermostat and feel just as comfortable.
• Keep doors and windows closed while the air conditioner is running.
• Keep window shades drawn during the afternoon to minimize the passive solar heating effect of the sun.
• Hang clothes to dry.
• Sign up for peaksaver^® PLUS and get a free in-home energy display. It can tell you at a glance how much electricity you are consuming at any particular time. 

For more tips and information on Toronto Hydro's conservation programs like peaksaver^® PLUS visit torontohydro.com/peaksaver or torontohydro.com/smartsummer

¹ Smart Meter Lane

Video with caption: "Video: Low-Cook, No-Cook Summer Recipe: Rice, Tomato, Black Bean and Corn Salad". Video available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUAur1C-Z9E

SOURCE: Toronto Hydro Corporation

Tanya Bruckmueller, Toronto Hydro-Electric System
[email protected]

W: 416-542-2621
C: 416-903-0440