Con Edison is stepping up educational efforts promoting conservation for residential customers, who have continued to buy and use a wide range of appliances powered by electricity. Significant purchases that are increasing home electricity bills include large flat-screen TVs which consume two to three times the power of the smaller, conventional sets they replace. A 42-inch plasma set can consume more electricity than a full-size refrigerator -- even when that TV is used only a few hours a day.

There are two simple steps you can take to conserve energy:

1. Plug your TV, DVR, or DVD into a power strip, then turn off the power strip when you are done watching.

2. Choose a slightly dimmer setting from your TV's on-screen menu such as "movie or pro." This can result in a more appropriate level of brightness and significantly lower power draw.