One one hand, this is an interesting possibility, but I still think it's an encroachment on personal rights.
Next year in California, state regulators are likely to have the emergency power to control individual thermostats, sending temperatures up or down through a radio-controlled device that will be required in new or substantially modified houses and buildings to manage electricity shortages.
The changes would allow utilities to adjust customers' preset temperatures when the price of electricity is soaring. Customers could override the utilities' suggested temperatures. But in emergencies, the utilities could override customers' wishes.
I'm not a Californian, so I'm not going to speak definitively on this one. I can certainly see the benefits, but there's just something about it being potentially 'mandated' that doesn't sit well with me.
"This is an outrage," one Californian said ..."We need to build new facilities to handle the growth in this state, not become Big Brother to the citizens of California."
Any Californians out there care to comment?
