AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Texas Attorney General said Monday he is suing electricity supplier Griddy for passing massive bills its customers during last month’s winter storm.
The lawsuit comes days after the Texas power grid manager effectively shut down Griddy, revoking his access to the state’s electricity market.
Griddy charges $ 10 a month to give people a way to pay wholesale prices for electricity instead of a flat rate. However, when temperatures dropped well below freezing last month, wholesale prices rose and Griddy customers were left with high electricity bills.
“Griddy misled Texans and enrolled them for services that, in a time of crisis, led to the loss of thousands of dollars by every Texan,” Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement. “While Texans have struggled to survive this winter storm, Griddy has aggravated the suffering even further by charging outrageous sums every day.”
The lawsuit alleges that Griddy violated the Texas Misleading Business Practices Act and seeks refunds for customers. Unusually heavy storm covered much of Texas with snow, removing electricity to 4 million customers and leaving many struggling to find clean water.
Meanwhile, Texas Electric Reliability Council or ERCOT moved about 10,000 Griddy customers to other utility companies on Friday.
Griddy said in a statement that ERCOT “took our members and effectively imprisoned Griddy.”
“We have always been transparent and customer-oriented at every step. We wanted to continue the fight for our members to get help and that has not changed “, the statement said.