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Texas Power: all you need to know about their personal network ERCOT
Despite the winter weather in Texas, that’s not the only reason the power goes out. Here’s everything you need to know about their personal power grid.
Staff Video, USA TODAY
A Texas woman has filed a class action lawsuit seeking $ 1 billion in relief for customers of electricity retailer Griddy, which the lawsuit found illegally engaged in price hikes amid blackouts. Widespread current in the state last week.
Lisa Khoury, who has filed a lawsuit on behalf of all of Griddy’s customers who were billed for the high prices, faced a $ 9,546 utility bill from Feb.1 to Feb.19 due to the outbreak massive wholesale electricity prices in Texas in the midst of a harsh winter. storm.
Griddy is a service that allows customers to pay variable rates on their electricity, being charged what wholesale customers would be charged, or “exactly the price at which we buy electricity,” the company says on its website. , instead of a fixed price.
But last week wholesale prices soared amid blackouts that hit millions of Texans, hitting $ 9,000 per megawatt hour from the typical rate of $ 50 per megawatt hour, the lawsuit says.
“At this point, we don’t know how many people could be affected, but there are probably thousands of clients who received these outrageous invoices,” Derek Potts, an attorney representing Khoury, said in a statement. “A class action lawsuit will be the most effective and efficient way for Griddy’s clients to come together and fight these predatory prices.”
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Griddy did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment on the litigation, but on a storm frequently asked questions page on its website, the company denies the allegations of price fraud.
The lawsuit aims to prevent Griddy from charging and collecting over-fee payments during the storm and forgiving late or unpaid payments as well as monetary relief.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said on Wednesday the state was investigating providers whose prices had soared, and the Texas Utilities Commission on Sunday issued an order preventing providers from disconnecting customers until further notice. who have not paid their bills.
Many customers are using Griddy in hopes of paying less, according to the lawsuit. On his website in a video explaining how the service works, Griddy is promoting itself as a company that saves consumers money by not tagging prices like “all those other guys, you know the ones you got. have attacked your parents and neighbors for 20 years. “
Although using the service is “a gamble,” according to the lawsuit, “Griddy knew she was overcharging consumers, that consumers would be harmed, and that Griddy would be unfairly enriched by retaining customer payments.”
According to the lawsuit, Khoury’s typical monthly electricity bill is $ 200 to $ 250, so she allows the service to charge her bank account whenever it hits $ 150. From February 15 to February 19, Khoury had $ 1,200 automatically withdrawn from his bank account, the lawsuit says. She placed a stop payment on her account but still owed Griddy more than $ 8,000, according to court documents.
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For two days last week, Khoury was largely powerless and had taken in her parents and in-laws, who are 80 years old, according to the lawsuit.
Before the high prices were charged, Griddy emailed his customers on February 14 warning them that they should find a fixed-rate provider amid the potential for soaring prices, but the lawsuit says many do not could not find one because suppliers weren’t accepting new customers during the storm.
Khoury attempted to change providers on February 16, but could not find a new supplier until February 19.
The lawsuit says Griddy took advantage of her customers “to an exceedingly unfair degree” and pointed to the fact that Griddy suggested that customers find a new supplier as proof that she knew the prices would be grossly inflated.
He claims that Griddy’s actions violated Texas’ Deceptive Marketing Practices Act, which prevents a company from charging an “exorbitant or excessive price” on needed products during a disaster.
Abbott and President Joe Biden have both declared emergencies in the state due to the winter storm. Historically low temperatures and unusual snow and ice last week pushed large reserves of electricity into the Texas grid. The storm and blackouts were responsible for many deaths.
In Texas, which largely has its own power grid, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas manages the flow of electricity for about 26 million people, or 90% of the state.
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Wholesale prices skyrocketed last week, Griddy said, because the Texas Utilities Commission “cited its ‘total authority over ERCOT’ to order ERCOT to set the price at $ 9 / kWh.”
Abbot and Texas lawmakers have called for investigations into the state’s power grid problems. Prosecutors have said they will investigate any criminal acts and other lawsuits have been brought by consumers.
A 2011 federal report said calls for increased winterization of Texas electric generators had not been met for a long time.
At least six ERCOT board members resigned this week. Abbott welcomed their resignation, but said in a television appearance Wednesday that “more needs to be done”.
Contributing: The Associated Press
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