COLORADO (Yaakov M / VINnews) — On Tuesday, during a blistering hot day, thousands of Colorado residents were shocked to discover they could not control their own thermostats.
Join our WhatsApp groupSubscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
Their energy company locked them out of their climate-control devices, for the sake of the greater good.
As temperatures soared into the 90s, Tony Talarico tried to crank up the a/c. That’s when he saw a message stating the temperature was locked due to an “energy emergency.” It was stuck at an uncomfortable 78 degrees.
He, along with thousands of other Xcel customers, had no control over the temperatures in their own homes.
It sounds like a George Orwell novel, but it may be a sign of the dystopian world in which we live, where people cannot always control their household.
Well, it's not the Smart Thermostat. The problem is buying a smart thermostat AND then registering with Xcel Energy to have them REGULATE your thermostat for some credits they dole out to you. The Smart Thermostat is a good thing; allowing Xcel access to it is not.
— PorchSong (@PorchSong) September 1, 2022
“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.”
Dozens of Xcel customers complained on social media — some reporting home temperatures as high as 88 degrees.
https://twitter.com/fenster303/status/1565407952080515072
Xcel confirmed to “Channel Denver7” that 22,000 customers who had signed up for the AC Rewards program were locked out of their smart thermostats for hours.
“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.
Customers receive a $100 credit and $25 annually, but also agree to give up “some control” to save energy and make the system more reliable.
“It is a bit uncomfortable for a short period of time, but it’s very, very helpful,” said Romine.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE LATEST YAAKOV M POLITICS ROUNDUP
Yaakov M is the Charedi Sean Hannity.
He is a senior columnist for VIN and former Op-Ed columnist for Newsmax. He has hosted a conservative podcast for 15 years, studied in Kollel for 14 years, was a Bais Medrash Rebbi for over a decade, and obtained semicha from a top Rosh Yeshiva. If you’re tired of fake news, you will love this podcast.
These people signed up for program to get paid in exchange for giving up control of their thermostats.
There’s nothing dystopian or Orwellian going on.
What part of this is so hard for Yaakov M to understand?
simple solution is to put a cupt of hot water right under it and let the steam rise into it and it will think it’s 100 in the house….
Well, the ones that joined the program and then complain when it affects them are just plain idiots. Just like the ones that voted for Biden and then said oops. Serves them all correct.
Exactly why I always ignore all of these offers etc. Free spray foam free boiler free etc.
NOTHING IS FREE!
This happened to me years ago in Lakewood. My elderly mother in law was at our house and it was hot! I don’t remember why or how we signed up in the first place but we opted out right after that fiasco.
The reality is that these programs are presented as always allowing you to override. I guess there was a hidden clause to prevent override in an emergency or possibly the utility deemed this an emergency and did what they thought was appropriate.
It’s not so smart to have smart devices.
In spite of being a smart device it isn’t smart enough to know who is controlling it
However some of them are just smart enough to collect all kinds of days on you.
There is always a trade off.
People opted for this plan when they signed up. What’s the hubbub?
Welcome to the Democrats dystopian future.
Government control