Utilities including water and power are one of the most important expenses you can have these days. While it won't cost as much as food, rent or mortgage, power is extremely important for most of life's modern conveniences.

The population of most countries are dependent on their regional power network infrastructure in a world that is constantly connected with items such as smartphones and other communication devices, computers that are used for work and food refrigeration, and because of this, most of us simply cannot do without power.

But in recent years, rising electricity costs and the Covid-19 pandemic have only made things worse and since 2010, electricity prices in Australia have almost doubled, rising from A$400 to A$900+ for some bill payers, while since January 2020, the average wage has actually been falling.

3 Things You Can Do to Beat Rising Electricity Costs

Hard times, a global pandemic and price increases aside, there are some things that you can do to help yourself beat the steadily rising electricity rates. Common sense dictates that you should switch off any appliances that you aren’t using and try to make a habit of not leaving the lights on.

But to help you further reduce energy use, here are 3 top tips for saving on your power bills:

• * Switch to energy-saving or energy-efficient appliances

• * Adopt off-peak usage practices

• * Consider switching supplier

Switch to Energy Saving or Energy Efficient Appliances

You may not be aware that some of the appliances in your home use more energy than they should because of inefficiency. This mostly relates to older appliances that weren't built to higher standards such as refrigerators, TVs and washing machines, but extends to your light bulbs.

LED light bulbs, for example, use 75% less electricity than filament bulbs and also last a lot longer, while newer white goods can save you a lot of money as one UK study found that power bills could be reduced by 36% per year from using energy-efficient appliances.

Adopt Off-Peak Usage Practices

Many energy suppliers charge more for peak time usage than that of off-peak. You can save some money by learning these times and fitting your energy usage practices around them. Obviously, some things such as the fridge need to be left on, but using washing machines and dryers off-peak will cost less than usual.

Off-peak times are applied in the evening and weekends, but this can vary by supplier, state to state and according to your electricity tariff. Typically though, peak times are set between 7 am and 11 pm.

Consider Switching Supplier

You have probably seen the various TV ads for comparison websites but haven’t given it a second thought, but you should. You could be paying far too much for your bills and switching to another energy supplier might be the best option to slash your power bill.

Electricity supply prices can vary wildly from supplier to supplier and some even reward you for using electricity off-peak while many suppliers offer varying contracts that suit a particular family lifestyle and typical power usage. While savings can’t be guaranteed, it is in your best interest to at least compare or check if you are using the right tariff with the correct contract from fixed or flexible to long-term or short-term.

If you find that you are struggling to cope with the cost of your energy bills and have fallen into debt, then you can contact the Australian Consumer Action Law Centre.