It’s like he’s been frozen for days and living with current outages they weren’t bad enough, now some Texans have to deal with abrupt financial consequences due to the storm. The latest blow came from electricity bills, some of which have reached outrageous amounts that can reach $ 5,000 or even $ 17,000 for just a few days.
Customers of the electricity supplier Griddy they expressed despair and frustration at these bills following one of the worst winter storms to hit the state in years. Griddy offers its customers wholesale variable plans with rates per kilowatt-hour related to market prices, which rose to the maximum ceiling imposed by the state of $ 9,000 per megawatt-hour for five days this week. Sometimes plans like the ones Griddy offers mean that customers save money when the cost of energy is low. However, when prices rise, this can mean 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 in Arlington, told a local affiliate Fox that he and his family were lucky because they never lost their power during the storm. Apparently, that luck didn’t come cheap: Griddy charged him $ 17,000 for five days of use.
Meanwhile, in Dallas, another Griddy client said she received a $ 5,000 bill for use last Saturday for her 2,700-square-foot home, according to Dallas Morning News. Socket reported that another Griddy customer was also locked in with a $ 5,000 bill for his 900-square-foot two-story home.
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Social media was also full of screenshots and accounts of Griddy astronomical bills.
Last weekend, Griddy warned his customers that he expected significantly higher prices in the near future. He even told everyone that they should pass to another provider.
But that was easier said than done. Williams, a Griddy customer at Arlington, said he tried to change suppliers, but was told the change would take at least a week. The griddy customers who spoke Morning news reported similar experiences. Fox reported that Williams finally made it to the end of this week.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott convened an emergency meeting with other state officials on Saturday to discuss rising energy bills.
“It is unacceptable for Texans who have suffered for days in the cold, without electricity or heat to be affected by rising energy costs,” Abbott said in a statement. statement. “To protect families, I am actively working with the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the House and members of the legislature to develop solutions to ensure that Texans are not on the hook for unreasonable increases in their energy bills.”
At this time, it is unclear whether Texans will be able to get help with their electricity bills. There is an option on the table: a federal block subsidy that the state recently received, which includes exemption for utility bills. We tried to find out more about the grant from him Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs website, which Texans should check, but dropped on Saturday.
On Friday, Griddy said yes looking for relief from the Texas Electric Reliability Council, the entity that operates the state’s electricity grid and manages deregulated energy market.
“On Tuesday, Griddy started working with ERCOT and [Public Utility Commission of Texas] seeking customer relief. Griddy continues these efforts and is committed to accrediting customers for any exemption received, dollar for dollar, ”the company said.
He also argued, strangely, that “customers who left to avoid non-market prices quickly asked to re-register and return to our platform.” Given the prices seen this week, it’s a bit hard to believe. However, if it is It is True, it’s even more alarming that Texans are still allowed to sign up for plans like Griddy’s.
Gizmodo contacted Griddy for comment, but I did not receive a response from the company. We received an automatic response informing us that Griddy has a deferred payment plan option to help members pay negative balances over time in installments and ensure that their power is not interrupted. It was not comforting.