First it was $4-a-gallon gas, then $5 for a bottle of milk; now, it is higher electric bills right in the middle of the summer airconditioning season that has many customers hot under the collar.

There is an 18 percent increase in Virginia electric costs, and in the District and Maryland rates are up 29 percent. The same story goes for the rest of the country. "It is more money out of our pocket that we could be spending on gasoline," the Haugen family said.

According to Tom Kuhn, of the Edison Electric Institute, "The problem is that energy prices are up for the power companies too. Coal prices have more than doubled in the last year and natural gas prices have doubled in the last six months." And like any business, the power companies are passing on the pain, so customers, who can't really go elsewhere, are cutting back.

"In order to pay the electric bill, we don't go out to the movies or we don't go out to the restaurant, we start cooking in more," Michael Domingoln said. "Definitely turn the lights off, turn off electronics, your TVs and turn down the AC," Louisa Kyne said.

And while it may be a long hot summer, don't expect much relief come winter. "If you use heating oil, the first tank of oil is going to cost you $1,000 this fall; whereas last year, it cost you $500," said Mark Wolfe, executive director of the National Energy Assistants Director's Association. "To heat your home with natural gas will cost you $200 more this coming winter than last winter."

And while turning down the AC may save money, it can also be dangerous. At the peak of the summer, when a combination of heat and humidity can feel like triple digit temperatures, experts warn that without relief people can get hurt.

Email To A Friend