What's the Deal: Saving on your electric bill this summer

If you want to avoid sticker shock this summer, it is critical many of you take a look at your electric bill today and possibly make a switch to a new supplier.

Eliza Hanson loves the summer, but she hates how much she has to pay for power.

"I try and wait as long as I can before turning on the air conditioning," she said.

Typically her electric bills in the summer are two to three times higher than in the winter.

"During the summer, electric rates spike. If you don't have a fixed rate, you have a variable rate your electric supplier could double or quadruple your bill," explained Lance Haver, a consumer advocate.

This summer is no exception. In fact, Haver said you can count on rates going up.

"It's going to happen because Three Mile Island is going to be shut down, because some of the coal plants are going to be shut down, and there may be other plants that are shut down for maintenance," he said.

And you may not know that your bill is sky-rocketing until it's too late, so the time to act is now.

"Look at your bill see if you have a variable rate and if you do, consider switching to a fixed rate so that there will be no shock in your electric bill this summer," Haver said.

Some third party electric suppliers are already soliciting by going door to door so do be very careful before letting anyone into your home or showing someone your electric bill.

The best consumer advice is to not sign up on the spot, instead, take the information, read it thoroughly and then make a decision after doing your research. Be sure to look at the official electric shopping website of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission or the New Jersey Board of Public Utulities website. It makes it easy to shop and compare suppliers and make a switch.