Utility remote control of smart thermostats: Difference between revisions

Electric utilities across the United States can remotely raise the temperature on a customer-owned smart thermostat that is enrolled in a demand-response program, in exchange for a bill credit. The programs are marketed as opt-in, and the enrollment terms promise that participants can override any individual event; Salt River Project tells Arizona customers that ''BYOT participants always have the flexibility to opt out of conservation events if necessary''.<ref name="srp-pr-2021">{{Cite web |url=https://media.srpnet.com/srps-bring-your-own-thermostat-program-provides-a-way-for-customers-to-save-money-and-energy-on-summer-bills/ |title=SRP's Bring Your Own Thermostat program provides a way for customers to save money and energy on summer bills |website=SRP Media |date=2021-06-08 |access-date=2026-06-15}}</ref> On August 30, 2022,<ref name="cpr-xcel">{{Cite web |url=https://www.cpr.org/2022/09/12/xcel-energy-thermostat-heat-wave-comanche/ |title=As heat waves worsen, utilities want more control of your thermostat |last=Brasch |first=Sam |website=Colorado Public Radio |date=2022-09-12 |access-date=2026-06-15}}</ref> Xcel Energy in Colorado disabled that override for about 22,000 enrolled ''AC Rewards'' customers during a heat wave, locking some thermostats while indoor temperatures in some homes reached as high as 88 degrees, the first time in the program's six-year span that customers could not override the change.<ref name="denver7-xcel">{{Cite web |url=https://www.denver7.com/news/contact-denver7/thousands-of-xcel-customers-locked-out-of-thermostats-during-energy-emergency |title=Thousands of Xcel customers locked out of thermostats during 'energy emergency' |last=Allen |first=Jaclyn |website=Denver7 (KMGH-TV) |date=2022-09-02 |access-date=2026-06-15}}</ref>

A demand-response thermostat program pays a residential customer a credit in return for letting the utility adjust the customer's air conditioning during a small number of peak-demand windows, which the utilities call conservation events. In Arizona, Salt River Project (SRP) runs the ''Bring Your Own Thermostat'' (BYOT) program, which it began as a pilot in 2017 and opened to all customers in 2020.<ref name="azpm-2025">{{Cite web |url=https://news.azpm.org/p/newsc/2025/7/3/225423-arizona-utilities-offering-payments-for-thermostat-control-when-power-grid-strained/ |title=Arizona utilities offering payments for thermostat control when power grid strained |last=Davis-Young |first=Katherine |website=AZPM / KJZZ |date=2025-07-03 |access-date=2026-06-15}}</ref>

During an event, SRP automatically raises the thermostat setpoint by no more than four degrees to lower demand during peak hours.<ref name="srp-byot">{{Cite web |url=https://marketplace.srpnet.com/srp-bring-your-own-thermostat-program-byot/ |title=SRP Bring Your Own Thermostat Program (BYOT) |website=SRP Marketplace |access-date=2026-06-15}}</ref> The 2021 program rules cap the season at no more than 15 conservation events, running May 1 through October 31, and pay a $50 bill credit per device plus a $25 credit per device at the end of the season, for up to two devices per customer.<ref name="srp-pr-2021" /> Before an event, the system pre-cools the home so the AC stops running at full output once the setpoint is raised.<ref name="srp-byot" />

The utility does not talk to the thermostat directly. A demand-response management platform sits between them: SRP selected EnergyHub's distributed-energy-resource management system to run BYOT, a deal Utility Dive reported in July 2018.<ref name="utilitydive-2018">{{Cite web |url=https://www.utilitydive.com/news/salt-river-project-launches-smart-thermostat-pilot-to-manage-peak-demand/527633/ |title=Salt River Project launches smart thermostat pilot to manage peak demand |last=Walton |first=Robert |website=Utility Dive |date=2018-07-12 |access-date=2026-06-15}}</ref> The platform reaches each device through the thermostat manufacturer's cloud, which is why the practical eligibility requirement is owning a cloud-connected thermostat rather than any specific utility hardware.<ref name="thermostatrewards-srp">{{Cite web |url=https://www.thermostatrewards.com/srp/ |title=SRP Bring Your Own Thermostat Program |website=thermostatrewards.com (EnergyHub) |access-date=2026-06-15}}</ref>

In Texas, the enrollment funnel ran through a sweepstakes.<ref name="energyhub-texas-tos" /> EnergyHub's ''Smart Savers Texas'' terms of service, a 2020 snapshot for the program period of May 1 through September 30, 2020, told participants that by joining the program ''you are automatically entered into the sweepstakes promotion''.<ref name="energyhub-texas-tos">{{Cite web |url=https://lux.energyhub.net/lux/terms/ercot/lux-ercot.html |title=Terms and Conditions for Participation in Smart Savers Texas Provided by EnergyHub |website=EnergyHub |date=2020 |access-date=2026-06-15}}</ref> The same terms authorized the sponsor to ''automatically adjust your thermostat, as required by the Program at times indicated by Utility'', and let a participant opt out of any single adjustment from the thermostat or app, or out of the program entirely by email.<ref name="energyhub-texas-tos" /> The terms set no cap on adjustments: EnergyHub estimated up to eight demand-response events through September 30, 2020, and stated there is ''no limit to the number of adjustments per season and no limit to the adjustments for system testing''.<ref name="energyhub-texas-tos" />

During a June 2021 Texas heat wave, customers reported that their thermostats had been raised remotely and said they had not known a utility could do that. PolitiFact's Brandon Mulder examined the claim in July 2021 and found that the overrides were real but that the affected customers had enrolled through the ''Smart Savers Texas'' program administered by EnergyHub, which signs customers up through their thermostat manufacturer.<ref name="politifact-thermostat">{{Cite web |url=https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2021/jul/09/tucker-carlson/tucker-carlson-distorts-texas-smart-thermostat-con/ |title=Tucker Carlson distorts Texas' smart thermostat energy conservation programs |last=Mulder |first=Brandon |website=PolitiFact |date=2021-07-09 |access-date=2026-06-15}}</ref> Some of those customers said they had not been fully aware of the program's terms.<ref name="politifact-thermostat" />

In California, the Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) tied a smart-thermostat rebate to demand-response enrollment. In a decision adopted December 2, 2021 in proceeding R.20-11-003, the CPUC authorized up to $22.5 million in incentives to install smart thermostats in hot climate zones.<ref name="cpuc-news-d211215">{{Cite web |url=https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/news-and-updates/all-news/cpuc-ensures-electricity-reliability-during-extreme-weather-for-summers-2022-and-2023 |title=CPUC Ensures Electricity Reliability During Extreme Weather for Summers 2022 and 2023 |website=California Public Utilities Commission |date=2021-12-02 |access-date=2026-06-15}}</ref><ref name="cpuc-pd-r201103">{{Cite web |url=https://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Efile/G000/M418/K927/418927517.PDF |title=Phase 2 Decision Directing Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Southern California Edison Company, and San Diego Gas & Electric Company to Take Actions to Prepare for Potential Extreme Weather in the Summers of 2022 and 2023 (Proposed Decision of ALJ Thomas), R.20-11-003 |website=California Public Utilities Commission |date=2021-10-29 |access-date=2026-06-15}}</ref> The decision directs Pacific Gas and Electric, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric to run the program, which set a $75 rebate per non-ESA thermostat and a target of up to 300,000 devices.<ref name="cpuc-pd-r201103" />

<blockquote>''Customers receiving a smart thermostat incentive should be defaulted into an automated DR program... unless they specifically request another program or choose to opt-out and not receive the demand response enrollment incentives.''</blockquote><ref name="cpuc-nest-testimony">{{Cite web |url=https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/-/media/cpuc-website/divisions/energy-division/documents/summer-2021-reliability/opening-testimony/google-nest-phase-ii-opening-testimony.pdf |title=Opening Phase II Prepared Testimony and Exhibits of Aaron Berndt on Behalf of Google LLC, CPUC Docket R.20-11-003 |last=Berndt |first=Aaron |website=California Public Utilities Commission |date=2021-09-01 |access-date=2026-06-15}}</ref>

In Colorado, Xcel Energy's ''AC Rewards'' program disabled the customer override during a single event on August 30, 2022. About 22,000 enrolled customers received a message that their thermostat was locked due to an ''energy emergency'', and for hours they could not change it.<ref name="denver7-xcel" /> The Register reported the more precise figure of 22,190 customers, roughly 1.5 percent of Xcel's 1.5 million Colorado customers, all of whom had signed up for the voluntary ''AC Rewards'' program.<ref name="register-xcel">{{Cite web |url=https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/01/xcel_smart_thermostat_power/ |title=Thousands of smart thermostats lock Coloradans out in heat wave |last=Mann |first=Tobias |website=The Register |date=2022-09-01 |access-date=2026-06-15}}</ref> One participant, Tony Talarico, said his thermostat was locked at 78 or 79 degrees; other customers reported indoor temperatures as high as 88 degrees.<ref name="denver7-xcel" /><ref name="cpr-xcel" />

The programs operate at scale because a few cloud platforms aggregate thermostats across many utilities.<ref name="google-nest-dr" /> Google reported that as of the end of 2023, more than 110 utilities across the US and Canada had partnered with [[Google Nest]] to reach over one million actively enrolled customers through the Nest ''Rush Hour Rewards'' program.<ref name="google-nest-dr">{{Cite web |url=https://sustainability.google/stories/nest-demand-response/ |title=Bringing demand response to the grid with Google Nest |website=Google Sustainability |date=2024-01-01 |access-date=2026-06-15}}</ref> During California's 2022 heat wave, Google said ''Rush Hour Rewards'' participants in the state contributed 75 MW of peak reduction capacity.<ref name="google-nest-dr" /> EnergyHub plays the same aggregating role for SRP's BYOT and for Smart Savers Texas.<ref name="utilitydive-2018" /><ref name="energyhub-texas-tos" />

Arizona shows how the enrolled base grew. SRP reported 36,000 participating customers and up to 70,000 kW (70 MW) of reduction per event in 2021.<ref name="srp-pr-2021" /> By 2025, KJZZ reported that SRP had about 100,000 enrolled thermostats and could shed up to 125 MW per event, adjusting enrolled thermostats by about four degrees roughly six or seven times per summer.<ref name="azpm-2025" /> Arizona Public Service (APS) runs a comparable program called ''Cool Rewards'', and Tucson Electric Power runs one as well.<ref name="azpm-2025" /><ref name="kjzz-acc-2025">{{Cite web |url=https://www.kjzz.org/politics/2025-12-03/arizona-utility-regulators-scale-back-aps-energy-efficiency-incentives |title=Arizona utility regulators scale back APS energy efficiency incentives |website=KJZZ |date=2025-12-03 |access-date=2026-06-15}}</ref> Even after that growth, the enrolled devices are a minority of each utility's customers: with about 100,000 enrolled devices each, SRP serves about 1.1 million customers and APS about 1.4 million.<ref name="azpm-2025" />

The wholesale-market rules that make aggregated thermostats valuable come from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). FERC Order No. 2222, issued in 2020 with updates in 2021, directs regional grid operators to write market rules that let aggregations of distributed energy resources participate directly in wholesale markets; the order's explainer lists smart thermostats among the qualifying resources and states that such aggregations ''can be as small at 100 kW''.<ref name="ferc-2222">{{Cite web |url=https://www.ferc.gov/ferc-order-no-2222-explainer-facilitating-participation-electricity-markets-distributed-energy |title=FERC Order No. 2222 Explainer: Facilitating Participation in Electricity Markets by Distributed Energy Resources |website=Federal Energy Regulatory Commission |date=2020-09-17 |access-date=2026-06-15}}</ref> The explainer notes that Order No. 2222 does not apply in the Texas ERCOT area, because ERCOT is outside FERC's jurisdiction, and that ERCOT runs its own distributed-resource pilot.<ref name="ferc-2222" /> Order 2222 governs how aggregators bid thermostat capacity into the market.<ref name="ferc-2222" />

In Ohio, a bill would put this kind of program in statute. State Representative Roy Klopfenstein (R-Haviland) introduced House Bill 427, which would let utilities raise a participant's thermostat or cycle certain appliances such as laundry or dishwashing on the hotter days of the year; the bill provides that any participant can override an individual reduction.<ref name="ohio-hb427-statenews">{{Cite web |url=https://www.statenews.org/government-politics/2025-09-03/ohio-bill-would-let-utilities-reduce-customer-thermostats-water-heaters |title=Ohio bill would let utilities reduce customer thermostat, water heater usage |last=Donaldson |first=Sarah |website=The Statehouse News Bureau |date=2025-09-03 |access-date=2026-06-15}}</ref> An earlier, similar bill died after Americans for Prosperity Ohio lobbied against it; that bill would have enrolled Ohio consumers automatically, requiring them to opt out, and charged a $1.50 monthly fee.<ref name="ohio-hb427-statenews" /> As of the Statehouse News Bureau's September 2025 report, HB 427 had not yet had its first committee hearing.<ref name="ohio-hb427-statenews" />