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Thread: Thousands Of Customers Locked Out Of Thermostats During 'Energy Emergency'

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    Thousands Of Customers Locked Out Of Thermostats During 'Energy Emergency'


    Thousands of Xcel customers locked out of thermostats during 'energy emergency'

    22,000 people lost control of temperatures in their homes for hours Tuesday

    By: Jaclyn Allen
    Posted at 9:48 PM, Aug 31, 2022 and last updated 10:27 PM, Aug 31, 2022
    Thousands of Xcel customers locked out of thermostats during '''energy emergency'''


    DENVER — During the dog days of summer, it's important to keep your home cool. But when thousands of Xcel customers in Colorado tried adjusting their thermostats Tuesday, they learned they had no control over the temperatures in their own homes.

    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."

    On social media, dozens of Xcel customers complained of similar experiences — some reporting home temperatures as high as 88 degrees.

    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.

    "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," said Romine.

    This is the first time in the program's six year span that customers could not override their smart thermostats, Romine said. He said the "energy emergency" was due to an unexpected outage in Pueblo combined with hot weather and heavy air conditioner usage.

    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."





    This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity (futility) of their mind, having the understanding darkened...
    (Ephesians 4:17-18)

    Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly...
    (Psalm 1)

  2. #2



    Time to get yourself one of these
    Thousands Of Customers Locked Out Of Thermostats During 'Energy Emergency'-f6a49d6a-ff06-4118-b021-a7ef1fd6502d-jpg

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  4. #3
    So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John's Avatar
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    "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," said Romine.
    Yes....

    It seems that the goto plan is to gaslight. Why not, it does seem to work.

    Get your booster, it doesn't work but you'll be protected!




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  6. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by John View Post
    Yes....

    It seems that the goto plan is to gaslight. Why not, it does seem to work.

    Get your booster, it doesn't work but you'll be protected!



    Ultimately, the goal is to be able to control more of peoples lives.




    .
    This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity (futility) of their mind, having the understanding darkened...
    (Ephesians 4:17-18)

    Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly...
    (Psalm 1)

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  8. #5
    Senior Member Highly Favoured's Avatar
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    Scott and I talked about this very thing a couple of weeks ago. We have wifi thermostats and realized that we have to figure out how to override them. I can see our governor (Whitmer - Michigan) doing this very thing in the middle of the coldest days in winter.

  9. #6
    Frozen Chosen A.J.'s Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Highly Favoured View Post
    Scott and I talked about this very thing a couple of weeks ago. We have wifi thermostats and realized that we have to figure out how to override them. I can see our governor (Whitmer - Michigan) doing this very thing in the middle of the coldest days in winter.
    Replace with manual?

    We avoid anything that's smarter than us, except our phones and they aren't paired with anything else in the house. Our tv is old and sometimes frustrating because we actually have to hook up our computers to it to watch some movies, like from Purflix, but the less smart stuff in the house, the better, we believe.

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  11. #7
    Senior Member Tehilah Ba'Aretz's Avatar
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    I think I'll get a stupid phone to have as a back-up. I already have a stupid thermostat and stupid anti-theft system. Hmmm what else can I take control of?

  12. #8
    I do not, and never have, owned a smartphone of any kind

    I have a landline at my home and I still use a $10.00 pay-as-you-go flip phone that does voice and text only.









    .
    This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity (futility) of their mind, having the understanding darkened...
    (Ephesians 4:17-18)

    Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly...
    (Psalm 1)

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    John (09-04-2022)

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