A $ 1 billion class action lawsuit has been filed against Texas electricity wholesaler Griddy Energy for allegedly charging exorbitant prices during last week’s historic storm, which left millions helpless in the cold. cold.
The lawsuit was filed Monday on behalf of Chambers County resident Lisa Khoury in Harris County, who claimed her electricity bill rose to $ 9,340 the week of the storm. According to the lawsuit, his average monthly bills usually range from $ 200 to $ 250.
She said Griddy automatically withdrew $ 1,200 from her bank account on Feb. 13-18, and her general bill from Feb. 1 to 19 was $ 9,546. The lawsuit alleges that some customers had bills of up to $ 17,000.
The complaint accused the company of “overloading” about 29,000 customers “knowing that consumers will be hurt.”
Khoury said she was hit by the charges, even as she and her husband suffered “largely powerless” in their home on Feb. 17-18, when they housed their parents and in-laws. for years during the storm.
She claimed that despite expressing concern about withdrawals and later rejecting checks, she had never heard of Griddy again. Finally, he placed a stop on his bank account on February 18th.
In Texas, residents can choose between two options for the electricity bill: a fixed plan, in which their price remains at a rate, regardless of market conditions, or a market rate plan, which can fluctuate depending on how much electricity is also used by the market price of electricity. Griddy offers the latest plan.
“We (customers) charge the wholesale price, in real time, of energy, which changes every 5 minutes. You actually pay the same price as an energy supplier or a retail utility, “Griddyy said in a statement. Griddy boasts on its website that this strategy ends up being cheaper for most customers.
Last week’s storm hit the state’s power grid and led to outages. It also led to a wholesale increase in the Griddy tariff to $ 9,000 per megawatt hour due to lack of supply and increased energy demand. Before the storm, the rate was $ 50 per megawatt hour, according to the lawsuit.
During the storm, Griddy advised customers to switch to a fixed-rate provider and told customers through its website that it was “seeking help from utility regulators.” . But many could not change because of the impending weather.
The lawsuit calls for a $ 1 billion monetary cut for Khoury and “on behalf of everyone else in a similar situation.”
He also accuses Griddy of violating the Texas Misleading Business Practices Act and seeks an order to stop the company from collecting payment for “excessive pricing.”
Khoury’s lawyer, Derek Potts, of the Potts law firm in Houston, told ABC News Griddy that he has 29,000 clients in Texas that the lawsuit could have an impact.
“What happened financially to all Griddy customers both in terms of the exorbitant prices charged and the way they were collected from people’s bank accounts and credit cards, literally in the midst of a catastrophe, while many were without energy? , heat, and water, is clearly against Texas laws in place to protect consumers, “Potts said.
Griddy did not immediately respond to ABC News’ comments, but dismissed the lawsuit as “undeserved” for Reuters.
Griddy blamed the Public Utilities Commission for raising the wholesale price of electricity in the crisis, saying the company did not take advantage of the high prices.
“We intend to fight for this and, together with our customers, for equity and accountability – to reveal why such price increases have allowed millions of Texans to run out of power,” Griddy said in a post on blog.
Texas Electricity Reliability Council (ERCOT) is also facing lawsuits after more than 4 million customers lost power during the storm.
ERCOT’s senior board leaders announced on Tuesday that they would resign amid outrage over the storm’s management of the corporation. Four directors of the council, including the president and vice-president, have resigned, which took effect on Wednesday. A candidate for the position of board director also said that he is withdrawing his name from the consideration. All five live outside of Texas, which only intensified the ERCOT examination.
Morgan Winsor of ABC News contributed to the report.