(30 April 2013, 22:57)Steve Wrote: Perhaps it's not such a crazy idea. Imagine a situation where the grid in your area is on the point of collapsing, would you prefer to have your fridge switched off if it meant the lights stayed on?
i wouldn't say a word and switch all my lights and appliances off if there really be some kind of national emergency or state of war.
in fact i already exchanged all of my home light bulbs for led-bulbs and i use latest model A++ energy consumption class refrigerator and washing machine. so i did my part, my consumption is record low but my electric bills still are rising!
problem in this situation is not your or mine power consumption, but the electric power companies unwillingness to build power stations with sufficient reserve of power or building the power accumulating facilities. because it is expensive to build.
most probably law makers just conveniently (for power companies) "forgot" to put the obligation to the power companies to do so.
if they really intend to operate peoples refrigerators by the frequency of the current in the national grid it will be massive. because you can not change frequency regionally locally. whole grid has the same frequency. if it lowers that mean whole grid is overloaded heavily.
main heavy power consumers are the commercial users. industrial and big office real estate companies. very slow to change their attitude towards electric power saving. so as always it is easier to make pay the sheeple. either by rising the electricity cost or by paying for the extra electronic chips in your refrigerators.