Republicans are supposed to defend property rights and keep government out of our homes.
But one Ohio politician just proposed something that would make Big Brother blush.
And this Republican just handed utility companies terrifying new power over your home.
Ohio lawmaker wants to give utilities control of your thermostat
Ohio State Representative Roy Klopfenstein (R-Haviland) thinks he’s doing you a favor.
The Republican from Haviland just introduced House Bill 427, which would let utility companies reach right into your house and mess with your thermostat.
They’re calling it a "voluntary demand response program" – but we all know how "voluntary" these things stay once the government gets involved.
Under Klopfenstein’s brilliant plan, you could sign up to let utility companies "temporarily adjust energy usage" in your home during peak demand times.
Translation: when it’s hot outside and you want air conditioning, some bureaucrat at the power company gets to decide if you deserve it.
They could jack up your thermostat settings or shut off your water heater whenever they feel like it.
Sure, they say you can "override" their changes – for now.
But once this system is in place, how long before that override button mysteriously stops working?
"This legislation is a crucial step in our state’s comprehensive plan to ensure all Ohioans have access to reliable, affordable, and readily available energy," Klopfenstein said in a statement that sounds like it came straight from a Soviet planning committee.
Here’s what’s really happening: instead of building adequate power infrastructure, they want to control how much electricity you’re allowed to use.
The California model comes to Ohio
Anyone paying attention knows exactly where this leads.
California already has this system – and guess what happens when the power grid gets stressed?
Rolling blackouts, energy rationing, and utility companies telling families they can’t cool their homes during heat waves.
Now Klopfenstein wants to bring that California nightmare to Ohio.
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio would oversee these programs to make sure they’re "cost-effective for customers."
Because nothing says "customer service" like a government agency deciding whether you’re allowed to be comfortable in your own home.
Online commenters saw right through this scam.
"They already have this in CA," one person wrote. "Monopolistic utilities with cyclical corruption colluding with government essentially makes them government entities."
Another noted that it’s "’opt in’ for now" – which is exactly the problem.
These programs always start voluntary and end up mandatory.
When Republicans sound like Democrats
Look, this is what drives conservative voters absolutely crazy.
We elect Republicans specifically to keep government and big corporations from controlling our daily lives.
Instead, we get politicians like Klopfenstein who think the solution to energy problems is giving utility monopolies more power over private homes.
This isn’t modernizing the grid – it’s modernizing tyranny.
The real solution to Ohio’s energy problems isn’t rationing electricity like some third-world country.
It’s building more power plants, upgrading transmission lines, and letting free markets work.
But that would require actual work instead of just passing another bill that gives bureaucrats more control.
Klopfenstein calls this "a vital tool" that will "ease the strain on our energy grid."
Here’s a better tool: how about utility companies do their actual job and provide reliable power instead of managing customer demand like Soviet central planners?
The legislation would give the Public Utilities Commission three years to evaluate how well these programs work.
Three years of letting utility companies experiment on Ohio families to see how much control they can grab.
What happens when some elderly person on a fixed income can’t override their thermostat during a heat wave?
What happens when the "voluntary" program becomes mandatory to get lower rates?
What happens when your smart thermostat starts reporting your energy usage to government agencies?
The slippery slope to energy rationing
You want to know what this really meant?
This was the first step toward energy rationing in America.
First, they would have made it voluntary and offered you a few bucks to let them control your thermostat.
Then they would have raised rates on everyone who didn’t participate.
Eventually, participation would have become required if you wanted "affordable" electricity.
Before you knew it, some bureaucrat in Columbus would have been deciding whether your family deserved air conditioning.
This is exactly how freedom dies – not with jackbooted thugs kicking down doors, but with reasonable-sounding programs that give government and corporations incremental control over your daily life.
And the most infuriating part? It was coming from a Republican who probably ran on a platform of limited government and individual liberty.
Ohio voters didn’t elect Klopfenstein to turn their homes into remote-controlled experiments for utility companies.
They elected him to keep government out of their business and protect their property rights.
Instead, he tried to hand over the keys to your thermostat to the same people who can’t keep the lights on during a hot summer day.
¹ Roy Klopfenstein, "Rep. Klopfenstein Introduces Legislation to Help Ohioans Save on Energy Bills and Improve Grid Reliability," Ohio House of Representatives, September 2025.
² Ibid.
³ T.A. DeFeo, "Republican bill allows utility companies to limit customers’ energy usage," Ohio News, September 8, 2025.
