NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Electric companies are offering tips on how to keep the heat from scorching your pockets. Summers hit differently in the South, and the Music City is no exception. Monday brought with it a surge in heat and a warning from electric companies, urging residents to cut down on their power usage.

“In our business, we call it high bill season,” laughed Larry Rose with the Middle Tennessee Electric.

It’s called that for a reason. On Monday, the Nashville Electric Service and the Tennessee Valley Authority issued a warning to residents, asking them to cut back on how much power they are using, voluntarily.

“What’s key to remember is that your bill is based on the amount of energy that you use. So, if you can lower your electric use, you will lower your bill,” explained Scott Fiedler, with the TVA.

However, before you go turning down your thermostat, electric companies say the math is simple.

“If you’re at 100 degrees outside and you’re trying to run it at 68 inside, your air conditioner as to work that much harder and it uses that much more electricity,” said Rose.

Nashville is expected to reach record high temps, and it’s that kind of heat that electric companies prepare for.

“This is kind of like our SuperBowl that we prepare for every year, it happens heat in the summer and cold in the winter, because in our region we see temperatures go from 100 degrees down to 0 degrees so we have to be prepared for everything at the TVA,” Fiedler said.

Fiedler warned that the month of June could bring with it a record high. As temperatures are expected to reach 100 degrees, the state could come close to a milestone set back in 2012. The record high hit more than 31 Megawatts.

Companies are now giving tips on how to stay cool without breaking the bank, including setting your thermostat to 75 degrees or higher if possible.

“Try cooking outdoors, use that grill, don’t use the oven. If you have to cook inside, try a microwave, that way it adds less heat to the home. Keep your curtains shut on the south side of the home to keep that heat out and that sunlight out because that’s another factor that adds heat to the home,” explained Fiedler.

Despite the demand and early heatwave, the TVA says Middle Tennessee has nothing to worry about when it comes to blackouts and brownouts that are plaguing other parts of the country.

“That’s not something that has ever happened here at the TVA, we have all of our teams in place at our operating units. We’ve done preventative maintenance both for hot weather and then again in the fall,” said Fiedler.

The TVA wants to remind residents of their Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, for families who may have a difficult time paying their energy bills.