It’s Not Just Hot.
It’s Florida Hot. Here’s What That Means for Your A/C.
By Monica Vanover on July 31, 2025
You probably noticed that summer didn’t wait this year. The heat rolled in early, the humidity clamped down, and your energy bill is likely creeping higher. But with the right tools, you can keep your cool, both physically and financially.
At the Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC), customer inquiries about energy use and billing typically spike in the summer, and they’ve developed a few tools that can help you and your budget stay chill.
We know summer is not just hot — it’s Florida hot. The kind of hot that sticks to your skin, turns errands into endurance events, and melts your motivation like a popsicle. In times like this, even if you maintain the same energy habits as the rest of the year, your total energy use can still sneak up on you and cause surprises in your monthly bill.
Here’s a closer look at what’s driving those higher bills. It’s a combination of your daily habits and the impact of the weather itself.
Your A/C is Working Overtime
High electric bills during the summer months don’t always mean something’s wrong with your A/C. More often, they just mean your A/C is working harder than you realize.
In Central Florida, two elements — the scorching outdoor temperatures and oppressive humidity — team up to create a heavier load on your A/C. The unit then has to work much harder to lower your home’s temperature so it matches your thermostat settings. That takes a lot of energy.
An A/C unit may run for much longer periods than it does during milder weather. In fact, during particularly hot stretches, it might seem like it never shuts off.
Luckily, OUC makes it easier to stay one step ahead of monthly bill surprises with two customer tools: usage tracking alerts and special billing programs that smooth out seasonal extremes.
SCROLL
You and Your Budget Can Still Keep Cool
Although you can’t dial down the outside heat, you can track how it’s creeping into your energy use. OUC offers a few simple tools designed to take the guesswork — and some of the stress — out of summer.
Usage Dashboard
If you only take one step this summer, do this: sign up to track your usage through OUC’s usage dashboard and alerts.
OUC’s Usage Dashboard gives you a daily snapshot of how much energy you’re using, and sends a heads-up when it starts to climb.
Think of it as a recap of your home’s daily electric and water usage. With this tool, you can set up alerts based on your preferred usage threshold; if your energy use crosses that line on any given day, you’ll get an email notification.
It’s a gentle tap on the shoulder to consider your energy habits for the rest of the month, allowing you to determine if there are any opportunities to adjust or be more efficient.
Most customers don’t realize just how quickly usage adds up, especially when the A/C starts working harder and your many electrical appliances — dryers, laptops and other devices — are also running at the same time. This tool helps you see the hour-by-hour impact of this, eliminating the guesswork to help you make smarter decisions.
Pro tip: When you sign up for high usage alerts, also include your family members. You can add up to six email addresses so everyone stays in the loop.
Hot Weather Help Starts with One Click
If your energy bill is already feeling the heat, OUC has tools to help you take back control. From personalized usage alerts to Budget Billing, to energy-saving tips and even financial assistance programs, OUC aims to share tools and tips to help residents keep cool and stay in control during the summer.
sponsored by: Orlando Utilities Commission
Set up your usage alerts
Budget Billing
The second tool OUC offers helps you plan to smooth out the seasonal billing spikes.
Budget Billing allows you to spread your total utility costs evenly across 12 months, eliminating seasonal highs and lows so you have one consistent monthly payment.
It’s not a discount, it’s a strategy. You’ll know exactly how much to budget for your utilities each month and can avoid unexpected seasonal spikes.
OUC looks at your past 12 months of usage, calculates your average, and builds a fixed monthly plan.* Each statement still shows your actual usage and how it compares to your budget bill amount, so you’re never in the dark.
*Visit OUC.com/budget-billing for full program details.
These tools are simple and easy to use. Just a couple of quick clicks now can spare you a summer of sweating the numbers.
Florida’s Most Reliable Electric Utility
The summer heat may be relentless, but if there’s another thing Orlando residents can count on, it’s their trusted utility provider.
OUC was named Florida’s most reliable utility — an honor built on decades of strong infrastructure and storm-tested service, based on 2024 investor-owned utilities data reported to the Florida Public Service Commission. In summer, when demand for energy surges and comfort depends on continuous power, that level of dependability isn’t just nice to have — it’s absolutely critical.
The reliability that OUC is known for goes beyond keeping the lights on. It’s also equipping customers with the tools and information they need to manage their monthly expenses.
Learn more about Budget Billing
Learn more at ouc.com/hotweather
