With temperatures rising across the Valley, the Brownsville Public Utility Board has tips on how to avoid a costly bill.

You can conserve your energy use by limiting the use of your dryer, washer, and dishwasher during peak hours. Peak times are between 3 in the afternoon through 8 in the evening.

You can also raise the temperature on your thermostat to 78 degrees Fahrenheit or more.

For two weekends in a row, Texas' power grid operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, has been either telling power generators to be prepared to increase how much electricity they produce or telling power customers to reduce the amount of electricity they use.

It comes as ERCOT has also directed power plants to suspend maintenance on their equipment.

Last Friday, six power plants tripped offline during peak hours.

The hot weather is expected to continue.