Nanny State Test: Company Locks Thermostats of 22K Customers, Cites 'Energy Emergency'

Ryan Ledendecker : Sep 1, 2022
PJ Media

"Normally, when we see a message like that, we're able to override it. In this case, we weren't..."

[PJMedia.com] For many Americans, the summer of 2022 has been a blistering hot and humid miserable existence. It's just one of those years when one truly appreciates the comfort provided by something as simple as an air conditioning unit. How did we live without them? (Image: Pixabay)

But for some 22,000 Xcel Energy customers in Colorado who wanted to be a little more comfortable on Tuesday when the thermometer was pegged at 90+ degrees, a bizarre message flashed on their thermostats indicating they'd lost the ability to control the temperature in their own homes.

According to KMGH-TV, "Energy Emergency" was part of the message that flashed on thermostats as temperatures skyrocketed and Xcel customers desperately tried to crank the A/C.

"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," the full message read.

However, customers enrolled in the otherwise innocent-sounding "program," like Tony Talarico, had absolutely no idea they could lose full control of the ability to cool down their house during a nasty heat wave.

"Normally, when we see a message like that, we're able to override it," Talarico said, according to KMGH-TV. "In this case, we weren't"... Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

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