Griddy Energy, the Texas electricity supplier charged with charging customers thousands of dollars During the winter storm, Uri said on Monday that he had filed for bankruptcy.
Griddy was a “thriving business with over 29,000 customers” before the winter storm began, CEO Michael Fallquist said in a statement. The record low temperature storm triggered a week-long freeze and left millions without electricity in Texas, causing estimated material and economic damage of $ 195 billion to $ 295 billion.
Griddy is the third energy supplier in Texas to file for bankruptcy since the storm. Brazos Electric Power Cooperative, which served more than 1.5 million Texans, submitted for Chapter 11 after accumulating $ 2.1 billion in bills. Just Energy Group also sought bankruptcy protection earlier this month.
Fallquist blamed Texas power grid operator Griddy for seeking protection in Chapter 11. The Texas Electrical Reliability Council, known as ERCOT, “worsened the bad situation for our customers by continuing to set prices at $ 9,000 per year. megawatt hours, “he said.
“ERCOT’s actions destroyed our business and caused financial damage to our customers,” Fallquist said.
Griddy is a defendant in a class action lawsuit filed last month by customers who accused the company of lowering the price. One of the clients, Lisa Khoury, said that Griddy charged her $ 9,546 between February 1 and 19. This amount is 40 times higher than her typical bill, she said in court documents.
A Dallas resident told CNN that his bill was $ 7,000, while another Texan reported a $ 6,225 tab. Khoury and other members of the class are seeking $ 1 billion in financial aid. The high bills prompted the Texas Attorney General’s Office earlier this month to sue Griddy, accusing him of “false, misleading and misleading advertising and marketing practices.”
Griddy executives claim that ERCOT is to blame for excessive utility bills. During the storm, Griddy asked customers to switch to other suppliers to avoid high prices. However, many suppliers failed to add new customers during the freeze.
Griddy said in a statement that it did not take advantage of the February outage and did not control changes in energy prices. Griddy said he collected his usual $ 9.99 monthly fee from customers only when electricity prices rose during the storm.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott blamed ERCOT for disaster. Four members of the ERCOT board resigned last month following storm damage. ERCOT supplies Texas 90% of its power.
Griddy said his bankruptcy reorganization plan frees customers from their unpaid electricity bills. The reorganization plan, which has not yet been made public, must be approved by a bankruptcy judge in Houston. The company lists its debts between 10 and 50 million dollars, according to court documents.