COLUMBUS — A bill recently introduced into the Ohio House of Representatives could allow utility companies access to the thermostats of homes and small businesses.
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Some people have apps like Nest to control their thermostats from anywhere. But if this bill becomes law, utility companies could step in and set the temperature with the customer’s permission.
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Everyone has their own thermostat habits.
“During the winter, we set it to about 68, and that with a sweater is fine. And in the summertime it’s about 75, 76,” Beavercreek resident Sandy Carey said.
News Center 7’s John Bedell asked people what they thought about giving their utility company control of their thermostat.
“(If) people want to go with it, it seems weird, but whatever. There’s a lot of things weird in today’s world, right?” Beavercreek resident Elaine Governar said.
As reported on News Center 7 at 6:00, House Bill 427 looks to establish voluntary demand response programs.
Participating customers could let the companies temporarily adjust energy usage by raising the temperature on their thermostat during periods of high demand.
This wouldn’t be mandatory.
Customers would have to opt in and would always have the ability to override those actions.
Utilities could also compensate opt-in customers with a payment.
The state lawmaker who authored the bill is from about 45 minutes north of Celina.
He said in a news release, in part, “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.”
Beavercreek residents said they weren’t so sure about the plan.
“I probably wouldn’t opt in, but if people want to opt in, you know that’s your choice,” Governar said.
“I don’t like it. That’s part of having our own home and our own rights to our own home,” Carey said.
The bill has only been introduced in the Ohio House and is waiting for an assignment to the House committee.
It still has several more steps to go to even get out of that chamber before potentially getting into and clearing the Ohio Senate.
News Center 7 will continue to follow this story.
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