Some customers of a Colorado utility company were unable to adjust their thermostats during a hot August day this year, but at least one energy company in Michigan says it won’t happen here.

Xcel Energy, a Minnesota-based firm that does business in several states, has signed up 22,000 customers in Colorado for its AC Rewards program, according to 9 News, an NBC affiliate in Denver. Xcel says on its website that customers who sign up for it “have the ability to opt out of control events at any time.” But it also warns, “On rare occasions, system emergencies may cause a control event that cannot be overridden.”

According to the TV station, one of those rare occasions happened on Aug. 30. “For the first time ever, Xcel Energy locked the smart thermostats of thousands of Colorado customers on Tuesday because of what it called an energy emergency,” it said.

Customers who sign up for the program let the company control their wi-fi enabled thermostats during times of peak demand. In exchange, they receive a one-time credit of $100 and an additional $25 annually.

Michigan Capitol Confidential asked Consumers Energy and DTE for their reaction to the August event in Colorado. Katie Carey, director of external relations for Consumers Energy, said, “Consumers Energy customers will always have control over their smart thermostats.” DTE did not respond.

Carey says the company offers several programs that provide incentives and bill credits. She says one of the programs does automatically adjust a home’s thermostat a few degrees from the usual comfort preferences. But, she said, customers are in full control of their thermostat and can override the temperature change. If they do an override, however, that could affect the incentives.

As previously reported by Michigan Capitol Confidential, utilities may have difficulties meeting consumer demand as they move away using coal and natural gas to fuel their generating plants. On one day in May, DTE told customers in Southeast Michigan it would adjust their thermostats by four degrees during a time of peak demand.

The city of Kalamazoo made national news after it decriminalized public urination, defecation and littering in July. The Kalamazoo City Commission voted unanimously to reduce these acts from misdemeanors with possible jail time to infractions punishable by fines. But if the Michigan Legislature passes a bill introduced Sept. 7 by Rep. Matt Hall, R-Marshall, state law would override the city ordinance.

Under the new city ordinance, violators are subject to a $135 fine. During a July 18 meeting, Clyde Robinson, the city attorney, said the size of the fine for littering is based on the amount of trash being dumped. The Kalamazoo County District Court’s list of fines has only one fee for “public unination/defaction.”

If House Bill 6367 were to pass, local governments that have ordinances on public decency could not repeal them. The bill specifically refers to public urination, defecation, or littering, the acts covered in the Kalamazoo ordinance. Local governments that have repealed such an ordinance after Jan. 1, 2022, would be required to reinstate it.

It is not clear whether the state can require local governments to enact a public decency ordinance. It has, though, overriden local decisions in other areas, including occupational licensing, preventing local governments from imposing stricter standards.

Hall’s legislation pass does not list penalties a local government would face for overturning a public decency ordinance, and there does not appear to be any companion legislation that addresses it.

At the July 18 meeting, Chris Praedel, a city commissioner, said he was voting to repeal the ordinance because the city needed to “develop strategies to address situations while creating an equitable community.” Stephanie Hoffman, another city commissioner, said people are urinating and defecating in public because there are systemic inequities in housing and health care.

Hall did not respond to a request for comment.