Home for the Holidays — and Saving Energy Too
Celebrate the Season Without Sending Your Energy Bill Soaring
The holidays are here — a season filled with comfort, connection, and celebration. Homes across our community will glow with twinkling lights, ovens will fill with the aroma of favorite recipes, and families will gather to share laughter and create memories. At RushShelby Energy, we know how much joy this time of year brings — and how easily energy use can creep up with all the extra activity.
With a few simple adjustments, you can enjoy every bit of the holiday cheer while keeping your home efficient and your energy bill in check. Here are some practical ways to save energy without sacrificing the spirit of the season.
Cook Smarter, Not Harder
From Thanksgiving leftovers to Christmas cookies, your kitchen often becomes the heart of your home during the holidays. But those delicious moments can also add up in energy use.
• Use your oven wisely: Try baking multiple dishes at once and take advantage of residual heat by turning the oven off a few minutes early — your food will continue to cook as it cools.
• Avoid unnecessary peaks: Each time you open the oven door, the temperature can drop by 25 degrees, requiring more energy to reheat.
• Small appliances, big savings: Slow cookers, microwaves, air fryers, and toaster ovens use significantly less energy than your full-size oven and are great for side dishes or smaller portions.
Even better, once the meal’s done, keep your kitchen cozy — but don’t run the exhaust fan longer than needed. It can pull warm air out of your home faster than you might think.
Light Up Efficiently
Holiday lights make everything feel more magical, but they don’t have to make your meter spin faster.
• Switch to LEDs: LED holiday lights use up to 80% less energy and last up to twenty-five times longer than traditional bulbs. They’re also cooler to the touch, reducing the risk of fire.
• Use timers or smart plugs: Set your lights to turn on at dusk and off around bedtime — that way, you can enjoy the festive glow without remembering to unplug.
• Decorate strategically: Focus on areas that have the biggest visual impact, like windows or trees, rather than lighting every corner. Sometimes less is more when it comes to holiday sparkle.
And don’t forget to unplug decorations when you’re away from home. Even small light strands draw energy when plugged in.
Contributors:
Keep the Warmth Where It Belongs
Indiana winters can be unpredictable — mild one day, freezing the next — so it’s important to make sure your home is ready to hold onto the warmth you pay for.
• Seal gaps and cracks: Use weatherstripping or caulk around doors and windows to prevent cold air from seeping in.
• Let the sun help: Open curtains during the day to let natural sunlight warm your home and close them at night to keep the heat inside.
• Adjust the thermostat when entertaining: If you’re hosting a holiday gathering, loweryour thermostat a few degrees before guests arrive. Extra people (and the oven!) naturally warm the space, so you’ll stay comfortable while using less energy.
Unplug to Unwind
Even when turned off, electronics and chargers continue to draw small amounts of energy — what’s known as “phantom load.” Before heading out for holiday travel or turning in for the night:
• Unplug small appliances and chargers you’re not using.
• Use smart power strips to easily disconnect multiple devices at once.
• Consider smart outlets that can be scheduled to shut off automatically.
These small habits can add up to meaningful energy savings over time — and they’re easy to build into your daily routine.
Share the Spirit, Not the Waste
The holidays are also a great time to be mindful of how we use — and reuse — energy and materials. Opt for LED candles instead of real ones, use rechargeable batteries in gifts and decorations, and recycle old string lights at local collection points rather than tossing them out.
Every little step helps make the season brighter, safer, and more sustainable for our communities.
From Our Family to Yours
At RushShelby Energy, we’re proud to serve members who care about their homes, their neighbors, and their community. Whether we’re restoring power after a winter storm, helping members save through energy-efficiency programs, or supporting local initiatives, our mission is the same — to power lives with reliability and care. As you gather with loved ones this holiday season, we wish you a home filled with warmth, laughter, and bright memories. From our family to yours, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Decking the Halls Safely
December isn’t just a festive month for many families — it’s peak season for home fires caused by holiday decorations and candles. RushShelby Energy reminds you that overloaded circuits and sparks can be significant safety issues this time of year.
According to the National Fire Protection Association, U.S. fire departments respond to an estimated 835 home structure fires each year that start with decorations other than Christmas trees. These fires cause an annual average of three civilian fire deaths, 30 civilian fire injuries, and around $14 million in direct property damage. Further, electrical distribution or lighting equipment was involved in more than two in five home Christmas tree fires.
Here are some things to remember when decorating your home for the holidays:
• Choose decorations that are flame-resistant or flame-retardant.
• Make sure you use indoor and outdoor lights for their intended purposes.
• Replace any string of lights with worn or broken cords or loose bulb connections.
• Follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
• If you use a real tree, select one with fresh, green needles that don’t fall off when touched.
• Add water to live trees every day.
• Keep fake and live trees at least 3 feet away from any heat sources and out of the way of exits.
• Don’t use lit candles to decorate trees.
• Look for a fire-resistant label on artificial trees.
• Secure outdoor cords.
• Keep candles at least 12 inches away from anything that can burn and never leave them unattended.
• Store decorations properly.
To go one step further in safeguarding your home, consider plugging holiday lights into surge protectors or power strips with built-in overload protection. Avoid running extension cords under rugs, keep outlets from becoming overcrowded, and turn off all holiday lights before leaving home or going to bed.
By following directions and taking a few extra moments to check your lights, cords, and decorations, you can help ensure your home remains both festive and safe this holiday season. A little prevention goes a long way in protecting what matters most, your loved ones and your home.
Savvy Spending
As adults, whether we own or rent our homes, purchasing large appliances can be a significant investment. Between refrigerators, washers, dryers, and ranges, these big-ticket items can put a dent in any household budget. While many people are focused on holiday shopping this time of year, it’s also an excellent opportunity to take advantage of seasonal appliance deals.
Many retailers offer deep discounts around the holidays, especially around Black Friday and other winter sales events. If you’ve been considering replacing an older or inefficient appliance, now is a great time to shop smart. Look for models that carry the ENERGY STAR® label — they’re designed to use less electricity while still delivering top performance.
Upgrading to energy-efficient appliances not only saves you money upfront but can also reduce your monthly electric bill for years to come.
The chart to the right highlights the best times of year to purchase big-ticket household items — helping you plan ahead and make the most of your budget.
The Gift That Keeps Growing: Teaching Kids About Money
This holiday season, give your children what can be one of the most valuable gifts of all – financial literacy. Start with simple concepts that create lifelong wealth-building habits.
Start age-appropriate conversations: From piggy banks for young children to investment accounts for teens with jobs, meet them where they are.
Introduce the 50/50 Rule: Every time money comes in – allowance, gift money or holiday cash – help them split it equally. Half goes toward something they want now, and half goes into a savings or investment account for their future. This helps to teach both immediate gratification and delayed rewards.
Make goals tangible: Help them choose specific savings targets, such as a new bike, a gaming system or their first car. Calculate together how much they need, create a timeline and track progress visually. Celebrate milestones along the way!
These small lessons can have the potential to become a lifetime of good money habits.
Indiana Winters: How Ice and Snow Impact Power Lines
Hoosiers know that winter weather in Indiana can be unpredictable. One day might bring a light dusting of snow, and the next, a layer of freezing rain that coats every tree branch and power line. While those icy scenes can be beautiful, they can also create serious challenges for electric systems across the state — including the ones that keep RushShelby Energy members safe, warm, and
When freezing rain or wet snow builds up on power lines, it adds tremendous weight. Just half an inch of ice can add up to 500 pounds of extra stress to a single span of wire. That strain can cause lines to sag or even break. The same thing happens to tree limbs — when they freeze, they become heavy and brittle, sometimes breaking and falling onto nearby lines. That’s one of the most
Strong winds often follow winter storms, and that’s when damage can really add up. When iced-over lines sway in the wind, the constant pulling can loosen hardware and even topple poles. These combined weather conditions can lead to widespread outages
The Challenge of Extreme Cold
It’s not just ice and wind — freezing temperatures can also take a toll on electrical equipment. Transformers, insulators, and switches are all exposed to the elements, and the extreme cold can affect how well they function. That’s why RushShelby Energy performs regular maintenance year-round to keep the system in the best possible shape before winter hits.
How RushShelby Energy Prepares
Our team takes proactive steps to reduce the impact of winter storms and restore power quickly when outages occur:
• Tree trimming programs help keep branches safely away from lines.
• Ongoing inspections and upgrades strengthen our system before the cold sets in.
• 24/7 on-call crews are ready to respond at a moment’s notice.
• Mutual aid partnerships with other Indiana electric cooperatives ensure that if a major storm hits, we can call in additional crews to assist with restoration.
Our linemen and operations crews work in some of the most difficult conditions imaginable — climbing poles in freezing rain and navigating icy backroads — all to make sure the lights come back on as quickly and safely as possible. Their commitment to our
Report outages promptly through the SmartHub app or by phone.
Always stay far away from downed power lines and report them immediately. Keep 1-2 weeks worth of bottled water and nonperishable food items.
Keep a vehicle kit in your car that includes sand or cat litter for traction, warm blankets and spare clothes, jumper cables, disposable hand warmers, first aid kit, bottled water, and nonperishable foods.
In addition, if a winter storm leaves your home without power, conserve heat by keeping doors to unused rooms closed and limiting trips outside. Indiana winters can be tough, but RushShelby Energy is tougher. No matter how cold or stormy it gets, we’re here — working around the clock to keep your homes powered, your families safe, and our community connected.
Quick Links
“Jingle Watts” (to the tune of “Jingle Bells”)
Verse 1:
Dashing through the snow, with lights all shining bright, RushShelby keeps the glow, safe and warm tonight! Circuits running strong, energy’s on cue, oh, what fun it is to share a spark that’s always true!
Chorus:
Oh, jingle watts, jingle watts, power all the way!
Oh, what fun it is to light your home this Christmas day, hey! Jingle watts, jingle watts, brighten up the night!
RushShelby Energy is here, to make your season bright!
Verse 2:
From heaters to the tree, and streets so gleaming too, we power joy and glee, in everything you do!
So plug in all your cheer, let holiday lights glow, RushShelby brings the magic here, and makes your spirits grow!
Chorus:
Oh, jingle watts, jingle watts, power all the way!
Oh, what fun it is to light your home this Christmas day, hey!
Jingle watts, jingle watts, brighten up the night!
RushShelby Energy is here, to make your season bright!
In observance of Christmas and New Year's, the office will be closed on the following dates:
Wednesday, December 24
Thursday, December 25
Wednesday, December 31
Thursday, January 1
Honorable Mention for December 2025
Although the photo quality prevented us from using it on the cover, Deb Gibson’s beautiful shot earned her a $50 bill credit. Congratulations, Deb!
MINI-MEMBER PUZZLE
Holiday Efficiency Tips:
• Decorate your tree with energy-saving LED Lights
• Save energy by using a timer to turn off holiday lights when you're sleeping.
• If you have a fireplace in your home, remind an adult to close the damper when a fire is not burning.
• Open blinds and curtains during the day to let sunlight warm your home.
• Lower the thermostat when you invite friends or family over.
Holiday Efficiency Word Search
The holidays are a fun, festive time of year! But this is also a time when we typically use more electricity at home because the weather is colder and we’re home for the holiday season.
Read the efficiency tips below, then find and circle the green words in the puzzle.
