As much as we love life in The Natural State, our summers aren’t for the faint of heart! We all love our air conditioning, but we pay dearly for our comfort. We’re at the mercy of utility providers who operate legally-sanctioned monopolies, and they continue to raise rates with impunity; according to the United States Energy Information Administration (EIA), the average monthly electric bill for homeowners increased by 13% from 2021 to 2022. The only defense we have against high utility rates is to reduce our consumption, but that’s often easier said than done when the mercury approaches the triple digits!