A Texas utility customer hit by the state’s devastating winter storms this month filed a $ 1 billion class-action lawsuit against electrical chain store Griddy Energy LLC on Monday, accusing the company of “unlawful prize distribution.” .
The prosecutor, Lisa Khoury of Mont Belvieu, alleges in the lawsuit that while Griddy’s monthly electricity bills were between $ 200 and $ 250, the company automatically withdrawn $ 1,200 from February 13-18 and her full bill was $ 9,546 from 1- February 19. .
TEXAS RESIDENT DEDUCTED ALMOST $ 17,000 FROM ENERGY COMPANY’S BANK ACCOUNT AFTER WINTER STORM
Khoury claimed she expressed concern about the withdrawals and returning checks to Griddy, but never heard from the company, eventually filing a hold on payment with her bank on Feb. 18.
The lawsuit, filed in Harris County’s 133rd District Court “on behalf of everyone else in the same position,” seeks $ 1 billion in financial relief.
In addition, the lawsuit accuses Griddy of violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and seeks an injunction to prevent Griddy from billing and charging payments for outrageous prices and to ensure that any late or unpaid bills from affected customers are forgiven.
Griddy blamed Khoury in the midst of a disaster. She and her husband were mostly without power in their home from Wednesday, February 17, 2021 to Thursday, February 18, 2021. At the same time, Khoury received her parents and in-laws, who are in their 80s during the storm. then she kept minimizing power consumption because of the high prices, ”the suit explains.
They noted that Gritty’s wholesale rate reached $ 9,000 per megawatt hour versus its pre-storm rate of $ 50 per megawatt hour, and said Griddy told customers it was “seeking help from utility regulators” after advising 29,000 customers on to step a flat rate.
MILLIONS IN TEXAS HAVE BEEN SEEN WATER PROBLEMS STILL FROM THE EFFECTS OF DEADLY WINTER STORM
Khoury was able to change providers on February 19, the suit said.
“Griddy knew it was overcharging consumers, that consumers would suffer harm, and Griddy would be falsely enriched by withholding payments from customers,” it concludes.
A man in Arlington was stunned when he received a bill for over $ 17,000 from Griddy in just five days.
In a publication on Tuesday, Khoury’s attorney Derek Potts – who heads the Potts Law Firm in Houston – said there are likely thousands of clients who have received the bills and that the class action “ would be the most efficient and effective way for Griddy’s clients to come together and fight these predatory prices. “
“The case is hugely important to the company as it allows us to represent the people of our state who have now endured not one but two natural disasters at the same time, the storm plus COVID-19,” Potts told Fox News Wednesday.
“What happened financially to all of Griddy’s 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 without power, heat , and water, clearly violates Texas consumer protection laws, ”he said.
Fox News contacted Griddy, but did not receive an immediate response.
In a statement to Reuters, however, a spokesman said the lawsuit was “worthless” and shifted blame to the Texas Public Utility Commission.
On its website, the company wrote in a blog post that ‘transparency’ had always been her goal and that it was ‘pissed off’ too. The company has vowed to fight prices.
According to FOX 7 Austin, wholesale prices have reached a state-imposed ceiling in response to rising demand.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP
An order from the utility committee said that “energy prices should reflect [the] scarcity of supply. “
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has promised that rollbacks would be a top priority. On Sunday, the state government commission acted to temporarily prevent electricity companies from cutting power to non-paying customers and sending bills and cost estimates.
“Texans should not face a spike in their energy costs,” he said tweeted