A refrigerator comprises a fresh food compartment and a freezer compartment and one or more power consuming features/functions including a refrigeration system for cooling the fresh food compartment and the freezer compartment. A controller is operatively connected to the one or more power consuming features/functions. The controller is configured to receive and process a signal indicative of current state of an associated energy supplying utility. The controller adjusts the temperature of the refrigerator and/or freezer from a normal setting to a higher point during an energy saving mode and then back to a normal temperature. The transition between low and high is controlled to reduce energy consumption.