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Texas Power: Everything You Need to Know About Their Personal Network ERCOT
Despite the winter weather in Texas, that’s not the only reason the power goes out. Here’s everything you need to know about their personal power grid.
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A Texas woman has filed a class-action lawsuit seeking $ 1 billion in relief for customers of electricity retailer Griddy, who, according to the indictment, was illegally involved in price gouging amid widespread power outages in the state last week.
Lisa Khoury, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of all Griddy customers who had to pay the high prices, faced a $ 9,546 electricity bill from February 1 through February 19 due to the massive spike in wholesale electricity prices in Texas during a severe winter storm.
Griddy is a service that allows customers to pay variable rates for their electricity, being charged what the wholesale customers should pay, or “exactly the price we buy electricity at,” the company says on its website, instead of a fixed one. price.
But last week, wholesale prices spiked during the power outages that hit millions of Texans, to $ 9,000 per megawatt hour from the typical rate of $ 50 per megawatt hour, the lawsuit said.
“At the moment we don’t know how many people could be affected, but there are probably thousands of customers who have received these scandalous bills,” Derek Potts, a lawyer representing Khoury, said in a statement. “Collective action is the most efficient and effective way for Griddy’s customers to come together and combat these predatory prices.”
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Griddy did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment on the lawsuit, but on an FAQ page about the storm on its website, the company has denied allegations of price cuts.
The lawsuit aims to prevent Griddy from billing and collecting the overpriced fees during the storm, and forgiveness for late or unpaid payments, as well as the financial exemption.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said on Wednesday that the state was investigating providers whose prices were rising, and that the Texas Public Utility Commission issued an injunction on Sunday, forcing providers to disconnect until further notice from customers who have not paid their bills. prohibit.
Many customers use Griddy with the expectation of paying less, the lawsuit said. On his website in a video explaining how the service works, Griddy bills itself as a company that saves consumers money by not writing down prices like “all those other guys, you know the ones who hunted you, your parents and your neighbors for the past 20 years. “
While using the service is “a gamble,” the lawsuit said, “Griddy knew it was overcharging consumers, consumers would suffer harm, and Griddy would be falsely enriched by holding customers’ payments. . “
According to the lawsuit, Khoury’s typical monthly electricity bill is $ 200 to $ 250, so she allows the service to charge her bank account every time it hits $ 150. From February 15 to February 19, Khoury had automatically debited $ 1,200 from her bank account, the lawsuit says. She placed a stop payment on her account, but still owed more than $ 8,000 to Griddy, according to court documents.
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Last week, Khoury had been without power for two days and had taken care of her parents and in-laws, who are in their 80s according to the lawsuit.
Before the high prices were charged, Griddy sent his customers an email on February 14 warning them to find a flat rate provider amid the potential for rising prices, but the lawsuit says many don’t because providers were not accepting new customers during the storm.
Khoury tried to change providers on February 16, but she couldn’t get a new provider until February 19.
The lawsuit says that Griddy has abused its customers “largely unfairly” and pointed to the fact that Griddy suggested that customers seek a new provider as proof that it knew prices would rise sharply.
It says Griddy’s actions violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, which prevents a company from charging an “exorbitant or inflated price” on necessary goods during a disaster.
Abbott and President Joe Biden both declared state emergencies due to the winter storm. Historically low temperatures and unusual snow and ice knocked out large supplies of electricity from Texas’ power grid last week. The storm and the power outage are responsible for countless deaths.
In Texas, which has largely its own power grid, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas manages the power for about 26 million people, or 90% of the state.
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According to Griddy, wholesale prices soared last week as the Texas Public Utility Commission “cited its ‘full authority over ERCOT’ to set that ERCOT pricing at $ 9 / kWh.”
Abbot and Texas lawmakers have called for an investigation into what went wrong with the state’s power grid. Prosecutors have said they would investigate any criminal wrongdoing, and other lawsuits have been filed by consumers.
A 2011 federal report said calls for more winterizing of Texas electric generators have long been unfulfilled.
At least six ERCOT board members have resigned this week. Abbott welcomed their resignation, but said in a television appearance on Wednesday that “more needs to be done”.
Contributing: The Associated Press