Colorado took over thermostats

[happy-go_vol]

Colorado Utility Took Control Of Thousands Of People’s Home Thermostats

I believe people laughed at the thought of years ago

 

[Rasputin_Vol]

How many of you people have these "smart" home gadgets in your homes?

 

[BreatheUT]

Seems like it was only the smart thermostats they owned. It would be harder to do it with your own smart thermostat that requires passwords.

I actually did wonder if this had happened in Nashville when my unit wasn't operating as expected in July. It turned out to be another issue.

I do think there is more of this to come as the grid becomes more volatile due to inefficient energy production. I could see Californian's being forced to use a thermostat supplied by the government then have it controlled when they want to regulate use when they are struggling.

 

[Rasputin_Vol]

Seems like it was only the smart thermostats they owned. It would be harder to do it with your own smart thermostat that requires passwords.

Hypothetically, you have several vendors of these smart devices scattered all over the place. I understand what you are saying in this particular case, but is it out of the realm of possibility that either the vendor of you smart device or your local distributor could have access to factory default passwords? Google and Amazon have a few of these products out. So are you thinking they couldn't pass this info on to utilities?

 

[BreatheUT]

Hypothetically, you have several vendors of these smart devices scattered all over the place. I understand what you are saying in this particular case, but is it out of the realm of possibility that either the vendor of you smart device or your local distributor could have access to factory default passwords? Google and Amazon have a few of these products out. So are you thinking they couldn't pass this info on to utilities?

As we've seen companies like Google are capable of anything. I do think that starts to get dicey.

 

[utvolpj]

The users agreed to it in exchange for a few bucks

 

[C-south]

The users agreed to it in exchange for a few bucks

They do something similar in Canada.

 

[dovervolz]

Colorado Utility Took Control Of Thousands Of People’s Home Thermostats

I believe people laughed at the thought of years ago

You get what you paid for. Those people signed up for that program.

 

[Switch 625]

Just wait until they do the same with car chargers at homes as well as the charging infrastructure.

 

[NorthDallas40]

The users agreed to it in exchange for a few bucks

Yep. Just a lesser version of the idiots in Texas that signed up for volatile wholesale energy prices in TX when the big freeze hit, was it last year?

 

[Rasputin_Vol]

The users agreed to it in exchange for a few bucks

That is true. Still isn't very reassuring that we are now to the point where utilities are having to resort to this tactic.

 

[Orangeburst]

Yep. Just a lesser version of the idiots in Texas that signed up for volatile wholesale energy prices in TX when the big freeze hit, was it last year?

From my memory, one has dozens of brokered energy plans. You kinda fit it to your anticipated usage, but you have to choose some plan.

 

[NorthDallas40]

From my memory, one has dozens of brokered energy plans. You kinda fit it to your anticipated usage, but you have to choose some plan.

So that’s TXU for sure who we are with. But they are not one of the many wholesalers. There at least used to be several wholesalers who were just a fee pass thru of the current exchange rate, what the retailers like TXU paid. Thus when it spiked like crazy the wholesaler’s cost likewise spiked as their their customer’s cost.

 

[Orangeburst]

.

 

[NorthDallas40]

About the craziest thing I have seen..I was like wth is this? I have to sign a contract with a wholesaler?

I have no idea what their terms are as I’ve never entertained their plans for the exact reason that manifested in the big freeze

 

[MG1968]

Just wait until they do the same with car chargers at homes as well as the charging infrastructure.

The way EVs are connected to the internet means that their buyers will never have complete control of their own private property.

 

[Orangeburst]

I have no idea what their terms are as I’ve never entertained their plans for the exact reason that manifested in the big freeze

I still had to have a plan. TXU is a plan with usage and a contract. Just looked at their website and about 20 plans just for them.
I am not sure how we have this disconnect.

Shop.TXU.com - Plans

 

[NorthDallas40]

I still had to have a plan. TXU is a plan with usage and a contract. Just looked at their website and about 20 plans just for them.
I am not sure how we have this disconnect.

Shop.TXU.com - Plans

I stopped trying to figure out TX energy retailer plans and pricing not long after deregulation