First Glimpse of the Electronic Gulag Future

In Colorado, some people were unable to turn on their A/C because they installed a "smart thermostat": (link)

For the time ever, Xcel Energy locked the smart thermostats of thousands of Colorado customers on Tuesday because of what it called an energy emergency.

Xcel started a program six years ago, called the AC Rewards program, in which customers get rebates in exchange for allowing Xcel to adjust their thermostat on the hottest summer days to ease strain on the electrical grid. Participating customers need to sign up for the program, and about 22,200 have done that in Colorado.

Corporations love the idea of turning everything into a service with terms and conditions that serve their management the most.

Imagine being stuck with some shitty utility company that just shifted all its profits to managers and shareholders and did no improvements or maintenance. They shift the burden of their garbage service onto the customers, but still charge them full rate. That's the future. Garbage corporations, onerous dumb contractual relationships with them, and all sorts of electronic garbage controlling people. Fuck that.