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Thousands of Colorado residents discovered their energy provider has ultimate control over the temperatures of their homes this week, according to reports.
More than 22,000 customers of Xcel Energy were locked out of their smart thermostats during an “energy emergency” on Tuesday, the company confirmed to local media.
“I mean, it was 90 out, and it was right during the peak period,” Tony Talarico told Denver7. “It was hot.”
Talarico had attempted to crank up the air conditioning via a climate control app when he received a notification from Xcel stating, “Temperature locked temporarily during energy emergency.”
“Due to a rare energy emergency that may affect the local energy grid, your temperature slider has been changed from 8:00 pm – 8:00 pm because you enrolled in a Community Energy Savings program.”
“To me, an emergency means there is, you know, life, limb, or, you know, some other danger out there — some, you know, massive wildfires,” Talarico said.
“Even if it’s a once-in-a-blue-moon situation, it just doesn’t sit right with us to not be able to control our own thermostat in our house.”
Xcel customers who signed up for the AC Rewards Smart Thermostat Program may be regretting the decision after their experience this week.
Participants in the program receive a one-off $100 bill credit and a meager $25 annual reward in exchange for surrendering control of their thermostats to Xcel.
Xcel clearly explains the downsides to the program as follows (emphasis added):
By participating in AC Rewards, adjustments are made to your smart thermostat during the hottest summer days. When the demand for electricity is the highest, you’ll help us manage these peaks and ease the strain on the electrical grid. You’ll be cut back on the time your central air works to cool your home with control events.
Control events may occur anytime during the cooling season. You’ll have the ability to opt out of control events at any time and receive optional notifications of control events, either from your thermostat, mobile device, or web app. On rare occasions, system emergencies may cause a control event that cannot be overridden.
In six years since the program was launched, customers have always been able to override remote adjustments — until Tuesday.
“It’s a voluntary program. Let’s remember that this is something that customers choose to be a part of based on the incentives,” Emmet Romine, vice president of customer solutions and innovation at Xcel, told Denver7.
“So, it helps everybody for people to participate in these programs. It is a bit uncomfortable for a short period of time, but it’s very, very helpful.”
Infowars has been reporting on the drawbacks of smart devices for years.
Last summer, Texas residents said they “woke up sweating” when their thermostats were remotely turned up during an “energy saving event” in the middle of the night.
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