http://www.davehitt.com/blog2/2008/01/16/back-away-from-the-thermostat-comrade/ Rapid Rants from The Hittman Fri, 16 May 2008 07:58:13 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2 http://www.davehitt.com/blog2/2008/01/16/back-away-from-the-thermostat-comrade/#comment-1036 Bernadette in Australia Fri, 18 Jan 2008 00:12:50 +0000 http://www.davehitt.com/blog2/2008/01/16/back-away-from-the-thermostat-comrade/#comment-1036 We have a 'pilot program' here that allows the government to install a cut-off switch on your electricity supply and on hot days the government can cut off the power so that you can't run your air conditioner when the government monopoly power supply can't cope with everyone turning their air conditioner on at once. Even though this country always has hot summers (temperatures in the 110F range for days on end) apparently each year it comes as a surprise to the bureaucrats that in such heat waves everyone will turn on their air conditioners. Rather than build more power supplying capacity or, shock horror, allowing competition on the market, they've come up with the fabulous idea of getting us to voluntarily (so far) agree to allowing them to turn off our power for the good of the larger community. When they started this program the advertising to get people to sign up was a whole load of twaddle about being a good member of society and not being selfish about your power use! We have a ‘pilot program’ here that allows the government to install a cut-off switch on your electricity supply and on hot days the government can cut off the power so that you can’t run your air conditioner when the government monopoly power supply can’t cope with everyone turning their air conditioner on at once. Even though this country always has hot summers (temperatures in the 110F range for days on end) apparently each year it comes as a surprise to the bureaucrats that in such heat waves everyone will turn on their air conditioners. Rather than build more power supplying capacity or, shock horror, allowing competition on the market, they’ve come up with the fabulous idea of getting us to voluntarily (so far) agree to allowing them to turn off our power for the good of the larger community. When they started this program the advertising to get people to sign up was a whole load of twaddle about being a good member of society and not being selfish about your power use!

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