Colorado Residents Got Thermostats Locked at 78 Degrees; Xcel Energy Says Adjusted Thermostat Due to Energy Emergency

Colorado residents found their own thermostats locked at 78 degrees on Tuesday after Xcel Energy, a smart thermostat company, adjusted its devices at a constant 78 degrees Fahrenheit due to an energy emergency.

The Daily Wire reported that Xcel offered a one-time $100 bill credit and a $25 annual incentive for Colorado customers who enroll in a program letting the company "ease the strain on the electrical grid" amid the hottest temperatures.

Xcel confirmed that around 22,000 customers who chose to be part of the incentive program were locked out of their temperature controls when temperatures climbed over 90 degrees in Pueblo, Colorado.

The company's vice president of customer solutions, Emmett Romine, noted that it was a "voluntary program," adding that it was something customers chose to be part of based on the incentives.

Romine added that it is a bit uncomfortable for the time being. However, he noted that it is very, very helpful.

Xcel Colorado Thermostats

A company spokesperson said in a 9 News report that it was the first time that they locked the said thermostats.

Xcel noted that the control events, which are when the company makes adjustments to the thermostats of customers who signed up for incentives, can happen anytime during the summer.

Xcel said that customers can opt-out of the control event at any time. However, system emergencies can trigger an incident that cannot be overridden. The company said that the Tuesday event was one of those occurrences when participating customers could not opt-out.

The AC Rewards program has 45,600 customers in Colorado, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

Meanwhile, the company's program has a total of 22,190 participants in Colorado, which is out of 1.5 million total Xcel Energy customers.

The Register report noted that this is not the first time an energy company has overridden customers' thermostats to reduce the load on its infrastructure.

Residents in Texas had complained that their thermostats had been "mysteriously overridden" last summer.

It was later found out that they had been enrolled in an energy-saving program known as "Smart Savers Texas."

Energy Emergency

Colorado is not the only state experiencing a local energy emergency with California's power grid operators issued an Emergency Energy Alert Watch and a Flex Alert. The issued alerts call for voluntary energy conservation due to high energy demand as the state faces heat waves, particularly in the Bay Area.

Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on Wednesday due to the heat wave to prompt an increase in energy and reduced demand, according to a CBS News report.

In addition, the executive order from Newsom authorizes the state to get additional short-term energy supply while urging businesses and industries to watch their energy use.

Newsom noted on Wednesday that "megadrought, mean fewer megawatts."

Last year, California faced a roll of blackouts during Labor Day weekend.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Gov. Gavin Newsom pleads with Californians to use less electricity during scorching heat. - from CBS Los Angeles