Tuesday, thousands of the Colorado Xcel power company customers were unable to adjust their home smart thermostats due to an energy emergency and had no control over their thermostat temperature settings.
According to Denver 7 News, Xcel customers participated in a program offering incentives to give up their thermostat autonomy:
“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.
Customers receive a $100 credit for enrolling in the program and $25 annually, but Romine said customers also agree to give up some control to save energy and money and make the system more reliable.”
