The Energy Alerts program will help you stay on top of energy bills by allowing you to set a monthly bill alert amount of your choice and notifying you when your bill is projected to exceed your set alert amount. Learn more about energy alerts Find out how much of your home energy goes to heating, hot water, appliances, lighting and other uses. It's fast, easy and costs you nothing. All you have to do is answer a few basic questions about your home and your lifestyle habits. Learn More About Home Energy Checkup Understand your energy use Find out exactly how much energy you use and how much it costs you each month, day and hour. You can also compare your use to similar homes.Gain a better understanding of your energy use and costs. Visit your account online Share My Data is a streamlined, safe way to give companies that you plan to do business with authorization to access information from your PG&E account. Share My Data will package up PG&E data, inform the third-party company when the data is ready and securely send it out.

LEARN HOW TO SHARE YOUR DATA WITH PG&E'S SHARE MY DATA APPLICATION PG&E Stream My Data helps you save energy and money by providing real-time electricity data through an energy-monitoring device connected to the electric SmartMeter™ in your home or business. This device helps you understand how and when you're using electricity and the related costs, which enables you to take action that saves energy and money. FIND OUT HOW TO GET REAL TIME ELECTRIC USAGE INFORMATION SmartMeter™ is a device that connects your home in a two-way communication with the electric grid. This connection helps manage the demand on the grid and improve service and reliability. With a SmartMeter™, you can make smarter choices about your energy consumption and better control your monthly costs. LEARN MORE ABOUT SmartMeter™In the heat of summer, electric bills skyrocket as everyone turns on air conditioners just to survive. Add to that the dozens of electrical appliances, entertainment centers, power tools and gadgets we all use—many of which automatically consume power, even when they are supposedly turned off—and you're on the fast track to a monthly money pit.

These tips will help you reduce the hidden costs of all those lights, TVs and gizmos you can't live without. in home ac unitsJust Cool It 1. home ac unit stopped working Closing the curtains and lowering the blinds on the sunny side of your house will help keep you cooler on hot days. ac area unitIf you don't want to obstruct the view, consider applying window film to the glass. Both the do-it-yourself cut-and-stick type and the professionally applied films will reduce radiant heat while allowing you to see through them. Similarly, the Rocky Mountain Institute suggests using outdoor awnings and, if you live in an area that is warm all year round, even painting your house a light color to reflect heat away. 2. Choose your windows carefully The U.S. Department of Energy recommends that window air conditioners be placed toward the center of the room on the shady side of the house.

3. Get your annual checkup Your house's biggest electricity guzzler is the air conditioner (and heating in the winter), accounting for as much as half of your energy bill. Make sure your systems are running at their highest efficiency by having annual professional cleanings and checkups. To help you remember, schedule a service call either when you set your clocks forward in the spring or back in the fall. 4. Change is good Change the filters of your air conditioner and furnace monthly. Keeping the air flowing and clean is good for your lungs and will help maintain peak efficiency. Ask the pro who does your annual cleaning to show you. 5. Bigger is not necessarily better Be sure your air conditioner is the right size for the room. Obviously, if it's too small, it won't do the job. But, according to the DOE, a unit that's too big will result in reduced efficiency, higher electric bills, uncomfortable temperature fluctuations and excessive wear and tear, which means you'll probably have to buy a replacement unit much sooner.

6. Touch that dial Don't keep your thermostat at a steady temperature. When you're away at work or asleep, turn it up so your air conditioner doesn't click on as often. Better yet, get a programmable house thermostat or a timer on your window units. That way you can come home to a cool house without running your air conditioner all day. Do the same in winter with your heat. Raising or lowering the temperature can save as much as $100 a year. Heat pumps are one exception to this rule. "A heat pump is more electrically efficient if it is kept at a constant setting," according to George Lewis of the energy company PPL Corporation. 7. Landscape for a cooler home Keep the greenery trimmed around your air conditioners for more efficient air flow. Similarly, if you have a central air conditioner, sweep away any leaves or other debris that accumulated near it over the winter. Unexpected $ Drains 8. Make sure off is really off Even when you think an appliance or device is turned off, the power may still be on if it is plugged in.

This is especially true with equipment that has a transformer (that small black cube on the end of the cord). If your outlets aren't easily accessible, plug small appliances, such as your radio, electric razor, battery charger, etc., into a power strip. Then all you have to do is flick a switch when you aren't using them. Of course, if you are dealing with devices that you program, such as VCRs or radios with clocks, unplugging them may require more work than the savings is worth. 9. Replace your lightbulbs Fluorescent bulbs may be more expensive initially, but they are definitely worth the investment. A single standard incandescent lightbulb can cost the same to operate as six to 10 fluorescent bulbs—and the fluorescents last about 10 times longer. There are lots of new shapes and types, including attractive compact units that give off a pleasing, soft illumination like traditional bulbs. But "be sure your electric eyes and timers are rated for fluorescent," says Alan Muenzel, owner of DAM Home Inspections, Salt Lake City.

10. It's all about good timing For security and safety reasons, timers are a great way to make sure the lights switch on and off like clockwork when you're not around. For better security, get timers that allow you to randomly vary when lights go on, which makes it harder for burglars to tell when you're away from home. 11. Stay connected 24/7 If your Internet connection is a local phone call (and on a separate phone line), there's no reason to terminate your hookup when you're finished sending e-mail or surfing the web. Unlimited local access means that it doesn't cost any more to stay online all the time, and it will help avoid difficulties in trying to connect to your Internet service provider during peak times, speed up your e-mail service and even make your computer modem work more efficiently. In addition, spend a few extra dollars for anti-virus and firewall software to keep the bad guys out. It's well worth it. I plant trees in front of my windows It may take a few years for them to grow, but eventually they will shade my home and lower my air-conditioning costs.—Ann Ross, The Dalles, OR 13.

When you are shopping for a printer, scanner or other computer peripherals, spend a few extra bucks to buy one that will automatically go into "sleep mode" or turn off when it isn't being used. On the other hand, be selective about which devices you really want with "instant on" convenience (like your television set and DVD player), because they continuously draw electricity. Cook Up Savings 14. Which oven do I use? When you have a choice between using the microwave or an electric stove, always use the microwave, which can consume as much as 90 percent less energy. For example, it takes 18 times the electricity to bake a potato in a regular oven than in a microwave, according to the Edison Electric Institute. If you don't like to microwave, consider using a toaster oven for baking or roasting small items. Incidentally, a convection oven speeds cooking by about 35 percent (reducing the amount of electricity used) by using a small fan. 15. Replace your appliances If your major appliances or air conditioners are more than 10 to 15 years old, they are definitely costing too much to run.

Modern appliances that conform to Energy Star efficiency are 10 to 20 percent cheaper to operate than other products, which will add up to big savings on your electric bills. In fact, according to the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, buying a new air conditioner with an energy efficiency rating (EER) of 10, to replace an older one rated at 5, can halve the cost of cooling that room. 16. Do you really need that second refrigerator or freezer? When you buy a new refrigerator, consider letting the delivery folks cart away the old one rather than keeping it for those "in case" times. It will cost you about $100 to $150 a year to run—or more if it's an older model. If you can't live without a second unit, put it in the basement rather than in the garage. That's because a basement is generally cooler; the fridge won't have to work so hard. 17. Save with off-peak rates Your electric water heater draws more electricity than almost anything else in your house. Take advantage of most electric companies' off-peak reduced rates by putting your electric heater on a timer that turns off at 6:00 a.m., for example, and clicks back on at 6:00 p.m.