“Two new features for the Nest thermostat could help customers and utilities reduce energy consumption. At the Bloomberg Energy Finance conference held on Earth Day 2013 in New York City, Nest Labs introduced a set of energy services that will allow electric utilities across the country to manage electricity demand. This concept, known as demand response, allows utilities to manage how much energy its customers are consuming at any given time.”
read more at: http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/plugged-in/2013/04/23/electric-utilities-can-now-adjust-your-nest-thermostat-to-shift-energy-demand/
and similar: http://www.wired.com/business/2013/04/nest-energy-services/