Around 22,000 households in Colorado recently lost the ability to control their thermostats after the power company seized control of them during a heatwave.

After temperatures soared past 90 degrees, residents were left confused when they tried to adjust their air conditioning and found locked controls displaying a message that said “energy emergency.”

Xcel confirmed to local news station 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.”

“I mean, it was 90 out, and it was right during the peak period,” Tony Talarico told the news station. “It was hot.”

Talarico said he is normally able to override the “energy emergency” message, but not on this occasion.

Completely losing control over the temperature of your own home is presumably one of the many benefits of the smart meters people will be forced to endure.

This story is yet another example of how smart meters will pave the way for energy rationing.

No doubt people who have them installed will increasingly find their thermostats remote controlled at the behest of energy companies whenever a dubious ‘crisis’ can be declared.

And if that sounds bad, just imagine what will happen if net zero green energy ‘climate lockdowns’ become normalised.

People in major European countries are already having their thermostats regulated.

Another reason to keep your house technology ‘dumb’ and disconnected from the wireless smart meter network if you want to maintain control over the temperature in your home.

Abridged from: https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/power-company-seizes-control-thermostats-colorado-during-heatwave