Furthering the point, even at the bottom of the "Your Thermostat has Been Disabled" Message, they say that you can re-enable the thermostat by going online and opting out of the program. So if it's getting unbearable you can go online, opt-out and be back in control of your thermostat.

EDIT: I just read that the temp was capped at 78, Colorado has low humidity so 78 here is much more comfortable than 78 in say Florida. Sure the message is culture war outrage fuel, but the underlying policy seems quite reasonable.