La Niña is bringing a cooler, wetter winter to Oregon – and likely driving up heating bills as systems work harder.  This is the third year of major price hikes for Pacific Power and P-G-E, with rates up by 40-percent from four years ago.   One report finds nearly half of Americans struggle to pay their utility bills – and last winter, a January ice storm and rate hikes saw power shut off for a record number of Oregon households due to lack of payment. Jami Seymoure with Energy Trust of Oregon says this winter, one way to save on energy bills is to lower the thermostat at night.  Seymour recommends setting the thermostat to around 67 degrees during the day and about 59 at night.  If you have a heat pump, don’t change the temperature more than a few degrees either way for maximum efficiency.  One source of energy loss people may overlook is the air filter.  Seymoure recommends changing it about every three months, or every time the season changes.