A cover plate for access to the thermostat of an electric water heater associated with a resistive heating element to control the operation thereof is described. The cover plate has mounted on a rear face thereof a remotely controllable switching circuit to control the power being fed to the thermostat and thereby remotely controlling the load. The cover plate with the remotely controllable switching circuit is also provided as a retrofit to convert existing electric water heaters to intelligent remotely controllable water heaters. The remote controller may be a utility, a utility provider or a remote control device. The remote controlled switching circuit is mounted concealed in the access cavity behind the cover plate.