Smart meters were never about saving homeowner money. You know that, right?
Posted on 09/06/2025 4:16:30 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
Ohio lawmakers are weighing a new energy program that would let utilities temporarily adjust household thermostats and water heaters — but only for customers who sign up.
House Bill 427, introduced this week in the General Assembly, would create an opt-in “demand response” program aimed at cutting strain on the state’s power grid during peak usage, such as summer heat waves or winter freezes.
Rep. Roy Klopfenstein (R-Haviland), the bill’s sponsor, said the plan extends a proven tool already used by the industry.
“Demand response programs have proven to be a vital tool for our large commercial users, and it’s important that similar programs are made available to residential and small commercial users,” he said in a statement.
Under the bill, households that enroll would give their utility permission to nudge thermostats up or down or briefly cycle water heaters off when electricity use is surging.
Customers would retain the right to override changes at any time.
To encourage participation, utilities could offer annual stipends or per-event cash credits. For many customers, that could mean money in their pockets simply for allowing utilities to make temporary, reversible adjustments.
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio would be charged with overseeing the programs to ensure they remain cost-effective and transparent.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
The amount of money saved, for the average homeowner, is near nothing with smart meters.
A link to a pdf of the legislation that includes a pic of the perp...
https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/136/hb427
I bet that if you were to override the “voluntary” remote adjustment, it would be adjusted again and again until you learn to comply with the remote orders.
I live in NYS.
Don’t get me started on the cluster created by the smart meters.
How a foreign owned utility company is not considered a national security issue is beyond me.
Our state government is allowing NYSEG’s owner to send us all to the poorhouse.
More overreach as usual but they did this in Maryland many years ago with a unit they put on your HW heater and they could kill power to it during peak power usage.
Rep. Roy Klopfenstein (R-Haviland) thinks you are the problem. If you vote for him, you prove him right.
This article from last night is about a GM patent for tech that would kill the engine of a car if grandma or grandpa was a Bad Driver. https://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/4338899/posts?page=60
Why would anyone surrender their freedom voluntarily to the arbitration of fallible technology?
This tech has been out there for years... I used to work for a government buildings division... They could increase or decrease the temperatures in offices and classrooms from a central office.
Now they're taking that to the next level... Some bureaucrat with the government or utility will decide whether or not you are worthy of heating or cooling... And just how much heating and cooling you need.
We are heading towards a full time nanny state that will make 1984 nightmares look like sweet dreams in comparison.
They wouldn’t.
This is the camel’s nose.
Sell the benefit to families who don’t want to have to deal with taking away the keys from an impaired family member...
Then see to it the tech is made mandatory in all new vehicles.
Just for convenience.
The slippery slope is real.
BOOM! Exactly. They may even shut off the utility until you "learn".
I dunno if they could fit this technology to Nissan Altimas with tinted windows and floppy paper tags I think I would be down with it. IYKYK.
I’m assuming that Rep. Roy Klopfenstein (R-Haviland) lives in or represents the district that Haviland is part of, so I looked it up.
Haviland is a teeny tiny town with maybe one traffic light IN THE MIDDLE NO WHERE. If I recall, AEP installed “smart” meters like 10yrs ago allowing people to see their energy usage on the fly. AEP lost a court battle and was forced to discontinue the service.
So I wonder just how much AEP stock Roy Klopfenstein owns
Have to conserve power so the data centers can use it. Once almost everyone is replaced by AI, unemployed and receiving a Universal Basic Income, the government and utilities will decide how much power you can use anyway.
“This article from last night is about a GM patent for tech that would kill the engine of a car if grandma or grandpa was a Bad Driver. https://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/4338899/posts?page=60
Why would anyone surrender their freedom voluntarily to the arbitration of fallible technology?”
1. If you aren’t doing anything wrong, then you have nothing to worry about.
2. As though anybody has any need for yet another reason to avoid buying a GM car.
Well at least his proposal says for only those that sign up, but it is a slippery slope indeed. Make no mistake, there are those in power who would like to micro manage us all: mandate vaccinations, how much energy you are allowed, how much food you can buy and what kind, how far you can travel etc. Allowing the utilities to control your energy use is just one of the first steps.
I did some back of the envelope math on the GM article:
https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics/2023/dl20.cfm
25-34 year olds: 17.3% of total drivers, 18.5% of deaths. Deaths/ drivers: 1.06x
65+ drivers: 22.2% of drivers, 19% of deaths. Deaths/drivers: 0.86x
Skipping miles driven data, as well as sex and city vs highway driving patterns, older folks have a relatively lower death rate than millennials.
Now, I agree with you on the slippery slope and the lack of backbone. Taking away dad’s keys can be achieved many ways….take ‘em, hide ‘em, set up Dad with a Uber app on his phone, you name it. SMH
Then why do people have curtains and window shades? Or VPNs? Or email encryption?
Why do most FReepers have nicknames?
Is everyone in reality a criminal?
Smart meters were never about saving homeowner money. You know that, right?
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