Winter storm energy prices leave some Texans with $ 17,000 bills

As if freeze for days and live with it contempt of power was not bad enough, some Texans are now facing the severe financial consequences of the storm. The latest blow came from the electricity bills, some of which reached outrageous amounts of up to $ 5,000, or even $ 17,000 for just a few days.

Electricity supplier customers Griddy expressed their desperation and frustration with these bills in the wake of one of the worst winter storms to hit the state in recent years. Griddy offers its customers variable wholesale packages with kilowatt-hour rates tied to market prices, which have reached their state-imposed maximum cap of $ 9,000 per megawatt hour for five days this week. Sometimes plans like the ones Griddy offers mean customers save money when the cost of energy is low. However, when prices go up, it can cause problems.

These types of plans are not the norm; most Texans have fixed rate energy plans. In comparison, Griddy has 29,000 customers.

Ty Williams, a Griddy customer from Arlington, told a Fox local branch that he and his family were lucky because they never lost power during the storm. Apparently, this luck didn’t come cheap: Griddy billed him $ 17,000 for five days of use.

Meanwhile, in Dallas, another Griddy client said she received a bill for $ 5,000 for use since last Saturday for her 2,700-square-foot home, according to the Dallas Morning News. The outlet reported that another Griddy customer was also stuck with a $ 5,000 bill for his 900-square-foot two-story townhouse.

Social media was also full of screenshots and accounts of Griddy’s astronomical bills.

Last weekend Griddy warned his customers that he expected significantly higher prices in the near future. He even told them all that they should change to another supplier.

But it was easier said than done. Williams, Arlington customer Griddy, said he tried to switch providers but was told the change would take at least a week. The talking Griddy customers Morning news reported similar experiences. Fox reported that Williams was finally able to change at the end of this week.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott called an emergency meeting with other state officials on Saturday to discuss rising energy bills.

“It is unacceptable that Texans who suffered for days in the freezing cold without electricity or heat are now stricken by skyrocketing energy costs,” Abbott said in a report. declaration. “To protect families, I am actively working with the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House and members of the Legislative Assembly to develop solutions to ensure Texans are not required to pay unreasonable spikes in their bills. of energy.

At this time, it’s unclear whether Texans will be able to get help with their sky-high electric bills. There’s one option on the table: a federal block grant that the state recently received that includes relief on utility bills. We tried to find out more about the grant from Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs website, which the Texans should check out, but it was down on Saturday.

Griddy said Friday it was seek relief from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the entity that operates the state’s electricity grid and manages the deregulated energy market.

“On Tuesday, Griddy began to engage with ERCOT and the [Public Utility Commission of Texas] seeking to relieve customers. Griddy continues these efforts and is committed to crediting customers for any relief received dollar for dollar, ”the company said.

He also said, strangely, that “customers who had left to avoid non-market prices quickly asked to re-register and come back to our platform.” Considering the prices seen this week, it’s a little hard to believe. Yet if she is True, it’s even more alarming that Texans are still allowed to subscribe to plans like those offered by Griddy.

Further contacted Griddy for comment, but we haven’t received a response from the company. We received an automated response that informed us that Griddy had a deferred payment plan option to help members pay off negative balances over time in installments and ensure their power was not cut. It was not comforting.