According to a notice issued by ERCOT on Friday, Griddy Energy must stop conducting activities under ERCOT protocols due to the breach.
After the unusual icy weather left millions of Texans without power, some reported seeing light bills in the sky. Many of those who reported receiving large bills are customers of Griddy, which operates only in Texas.
A resident of Chambers County recently filed a class action lawsuit against Griddy, accusing the supplier of abusing customer prices during last week’s freeze. It is asking $ 1 billion in aid to affected customers.
Lisa Khoury’s lawyers said in the lawsuit that her account skyrocketed to $ 9,340 in the week of the storm, compared to the average of her monthly bills ranging from $ 200 to $ 250. Griddy outlined Khoury’s various bank account payments times, according to the lawsuit, pulling in $ 1,200 before blocking new charges from your bank. She still owes thousands.
Watch the full interview with Khoury in the video player above.
Griddy, launched in 2017, charges $ 10 a month to give people a way to pay wholesale prices for electricity, rather than a flat fee. He alerted customers to rising prices and urged them to switch providers. The company said wholesale prices returned to normal on February 20.
Griddy said it has 29,000 members. It is unclear how many other Texans also pay wholesale prices from other companies.
“We are not going to have a complete picture of financial devastation for maybe 30 to 90 days,” said Ed Hirs, an energy fellow at the University of Houston.
SEE ALSO: Some Texans can be hit with spikes in electricity bills
The electricity retailer recently addressed price increase issues on its website and placed the blame on the Public Utility Commission. The company says it has not profited from the price hikes.
SEE ALSO: Griddy customer in Houston received a $ 5,500 energy bill this week
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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