A microwave oven comprises a cooking cavity and a RF generation module configured to deliver microwave energy into the cooking cavity. A controller receives and processes a signal indicative of the current state of an associated energy supplying utility for determining whether to operate the microwave oven in one of a normal operating mode and a power saving mode in response to the received signal. A power source is operatively associated with the controller and the RF generation module, and is configured to receive a signal from the controller and cause the microwave oven to operate in normal operating mode or in power saving operating mode in accord with the signal.