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This is almost certainly not a capability of your meter as such, though the meter might be used to pass data back and forth. Either your thermostat is being controlled (i.e., via changing setpoints) or there's a device somewhere in your HVAC wiring that the utility can communicate with. What is for sure not happening is remote connect/disconnect in the meter used to shed load.

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I worked with a power company in New Zealand that had load shedding like this (although more for water heaters IIRC). They transmitted signals on the power lines themselves at a much higher frequency than the AC delivery. The end devices also needed to support it.

Correct! I didn't think it was worthwhile making the distinction but there's a separate interface that the power company can control that switches the A/C. I think (been a while since I paid attention to it) that it only controls the compressor: the blower is still allowed to run independently.

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