Energy Lockdowns Have Arrived: During Colorado heatwave, thousands locked out of control over their home thermostat during ‘energy emergency’
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The Denver Channel: Temperatures climbed into the 90s Tuesday, which is why Tony Talarico tried to crank up the air conditioning in his partner's Arvada home. "I mean, it was 90 out, and it was right during the peak period," Talarico said. "It was hot." That's when he saw a message on the thermostat stating the temperature was locked due to an "energy emergency." "Normally, when we see a message like that, we're able to override it," Talarico said. "In this case, we weren't. So, our thermostat was locked in at 78 or 79."
Xcel confirmed to Contact Denver7 that 22,000 customers who had signed up for the Colorado AC Rewards program were locked out of their smart thermostats for hours on 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," said Emmett Romine, vice president of customer solutions and innovation at Xcel. ...
But Talarico said he had no idea that he could be locked out of the thermostat. While he has solar panels and a smart thermostat to save energy, he says he did not sign up to have this much control taken away. "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."
Flashback 2008: NYT: California Seeks Home Thermostat Control
https://www.climatedepot.com/2022/09/02/energy-lockdowns-have-arrived-during-colorado-heatwave-thousands-locked-out-of-control-over-their-home-thermostat-during-energy-emergency/