Back Away From The Thermostat, Comrade
By Dave Hitt on Jan 16, 2008 in Big Brother, Nanny Nation, Politics, Yeah - That'll Work
Inspired, perhaps, by California counties that have made it illegal for people to smoke in their own homes, the government is eager to continue expanding their tentacles into once private residences.
The California Energy Commission wants to require all new homes, and remodeled homes, have special radio controlled thermostats which Big Brother could control. First they’ll set it to “suggested” temperatures. Customers would be allowed to override the “suggestions,” but Big Brother would have the ultimate control, and the final say.
Concerns that the signal could be hacked have been brushed aside. A spokesweasel for PG&E says that’s not possible, a statement guaranteed to inspire geeks to prove her wrong.
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!
Bernadette in Australia | Jan 17, 2008 | Reply