(RALEIGH) -- While we have not seen a lot of bitterly cold weather in North Carolina yet this winter, there is still plenty of time. Mike Hughes of Progress Energy said it is a good idea to take steps to keep your power bill low.

"Make sure that the areas around windows and doors are caulked and closed and you're not losing hot air to the outside, just common sense kinds of things for energy savings, using the microwave oven instead of the conventional oven saves up to 50 percent of the energy of a conventional oven," said Hughes.

Hughes said the utility is always on the lookout for ways to reduce the impact of severe weather, such as trimming trees near power lines.  Progress Energy maintains 60,000 miles of power lines across the Carolinas.