On Tuesday, Aug. 30, several Xcel customers reported that they lost control of the temperature of their smart thermostats and were not able to adjust for hours.
Xcel Thermostat's Energy Emergency
According to ABC Denver, a customer of Xcel named Tony Talarico revealed that the temperature of his thermostat at home climbed to 90 degrees, which forced him to turn on the air conditioning because it was too hot.
When he adjusted the thermostat, he saw a message saying the temperature was locked because of an energy emergency.
On Twitter, dozens of Xcel customers complained about their own thermostats, with some reporting home temperatures stuck at 88 degrees.
When thousands of Xcel customers in Colorado tried adjusting their thermostats Tuesday, they learned they had no control over the temperatures in their own homes. via @jaclynreporting https://t.co/mgLEC6SEzR
— Denver7 News (@DenverChannel) September 1, 2022
Reason Behind the Energy Emergency
In an interview with Contact Denver 7, Xcel confirmed that its customers who had signed up for the Colorado AC Rewards program were not able to adjust the temperature of their smart thermostats for hours on Tuesday, Aug. 30.
The vice president of customer solutions at Xcel, Emmett Romine, that the energy emergency happened not because of a system glitch but because the customers chose to be a part of it.
Also Read: Google smart thermostat in the works?
The voluntary Colorado AC Rewards program gives customers a $100 credit for enrolling in the incentive program and $25 annually.
In exchange, the customers have to agree that the company will have some control over their smart thermostats to help save energy and money.
Romine admitted that the sudden increase in temperature might be uncomfortable, but it only lasts for a couple of hours, and it helps save energy in the long run.
Xcel's AC Rewards Program
The AC Rewards Program of the company has been going on for six years now, and there are 22,000 customers signed up for it, But this is the first time that they were not given the option to override their smart thermostats.
Romine said that the company was forced to go into the energy emergency status because of the outage in Pueblo and the hot weather and heavy air conditioner usage in Colorado.
Despite the explanation, several customers said they did not sign up for the program to have their control over their smart thermostats taken away. They claimed they were not informed that such a situation might happen.
Pending Price Increase
Aside from the AC Rewards Program that helps the company to conserve energy, Xcel is also working on a climate-friendly natural gas system.
The system was tested before the public and Colorado utility regulators in August, but the customer reception was not as expected.
Xcel is seeking a $188.6 million rate increase from the Colorado Public Utility Commission, saying it is the budget needed to kickstart its plan to eliminate the climate-warming effects of its natural gas system by 2050, according to CPR.
If the request for a rate increase is approved, Xcel's 1.4 million natural gas customers would be paying $4.16 in November. In 2023, an additional $1.83 rate hike will happen, followed by a $2.15 increase on the bill by 2024.
The rate increase would be $8.13 more per month for the average natural gas customer.
According to CBS News, Xcel plans to invest in better-insulated buildings, pipeline leak detection, and novel technologies like adding hydrogen into the company's natural gas supply to achieve the net-zero goal.
Related Article: Aqara Unveils New HomeKit-Supported Smart Thermostat S3 For Mainland China Launch
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Sophie Webster
