Some sweltering residents of Texas are reporting that they are unable to lower the temperature on their Wi-Fi enabled “smart” thermostats after it was mysteriously raised, and they are struggling to understand why.
The reason, it transpires, is not that malicious hackers have broken into the IoT devices to cause mayhem but is instead all part of an energy conservation campaign promoted by Texas’s power grid operator struggling to stay online in the Lone Star State.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has told residents to conserve as much energy as possible, asking them to set their thermostats to 78 degrees Fahrenheit (25.5 degrees Celsius) or higher during the peak hours of 3-7pm. But what are energy companies supposed to do if people really want their air conditioning to blast away the heat?
The answer, it appears, is to take remote control of users’ smart thermostats and bump up the temperature.
According to reports, the (now sweaty) affected users are using smart thermostats that are taking part in a program called “Smart Savers Texas,” operated by a company called EnergyHub. As WFAA explains, signing-up for “Smart Savers Texas” also signs away the rights for energy firms to seize remote control of the thermostats, turning it up and preventing it from being turned down again:
The agreement states that in exchange for an entry into sweepstakes, electric customers allow them to control their thermostats during periods of high energy demand. EnergyHub’s list of its clients include TXU Energy, CenterPoi ..
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