I will not allow pg&e to control my thermostat. If it becomes mandatory, I will setup a fake one that reports to them and real one that runs my air.

I hate smart appliances particularly because they all require wifi. I have switches in every room in my house, and none of the smart plugs, etc, I've seen online use ethernet. They want me to get brain cancer.

Nonetheless, there are open source solutions re smarthomes that don't require you to be on their grid.