Across Texas, some residents are facing devastating electrical charges worth thousands of dollars, after a week of power cuts and the harsh winter that inflated the price of electricity.
Among Texans who use wholesale electricity providers, which fluctuate based on real-time market changes and can skyrocket in times of scarcity, some customers are seeing bills of up to $ 14,000.
Scott Willoughby, a resident of Royce City, Texas, told NBC 5 that he owes the power company Griddy $ 13,926.89 for the month of February.
“I would need almost all of my savings to pay this bill,” Willoughby told the news agency.
He said he signed with Griddy, a wholesale supplier, after moving to a new home in November. Griddy members pay a monthly fee of $ 9.99 and then pay the direct cost of electricity on the Texas power grid based on the time of day they used it – a prospect that can help customers save money in the absence of major market fluctuations.
“For the first three or four months, I saved $ 80 to $ 100 a month by going with Griddy. Never in my dreams would I have imagined that this was a possibility, ”Willoughby told NBC 5.
Willoughby is not the only one. Royce Pierce, a 38-year-old contractor from Texas, owes Griddy more than $ 8,000 for using electricity in February.
Pierce told the Daily Beast that his most recent account was an exorbitant increase compared to the payments he made for his two-story home last month, which was $ 387.79.
“It’s mind-blowing. Honestly, I didn’t believe in the price at first,” said Pierce. “It is not a good feeling to know that there is an impending bill that we simply cannot pay.”
Pierce said his family had been trying to use less electricity, turning the thermostat to 50 degrees and not using lights or the oven in an effort to keep costs down.
“There is nothing we can do now. This is already a crazy thing and I don’t care about the money when it comes to people’s health,” said Pierce, adding that if the coronavirus pandemic hadn’t affected his work, “we I could have taken care of that. “
Matthew Busch / Getty
Other Texans reported bills between $ 1,300 and $ 6,000 for minimal energy use, according to NBC 5.
To solve the problem, Griddy earlier this week told all of his customers to switch to another energy supplier, as electricity prices rose to $ 9,000 a megawatt-hour on Monday.
“We made the unprecedented decision to tell our customers – that we work hard to get – that they will be better off in the short term with another supplier,” said Michael Fallquist, Griddy’s chief executive, in a statement.
“We want what is right for our consumers, so we encourage them to leave,” continued Fallquist. “We believe that transparency and honesty will bring them back.”
But many faced challenges when detected by another energy supplier in such a short time, reported NBC 5.
On Thursday, Griddy expressed frustration with his customers in an online statement in which he attributed the severe price increase to the Texas Public Utility Commission (PUCT), which urged the Texas Electric Reliability Council (ERCOT) to increase rates to reflect the scarcity of supply.
“We intend to fight for this, and alongside our customers, for fairness and responsibility – to reveal why such price increases were allowed when millions of Texans ran out of power,” said the company.
As an unprecedented snowfall and freezing temperatures hit Texas this week, more than 4 million residents were left without power or heating.
On Saturday, most homes recovered their energy, but millions were left with a water crisis.
Texas officials ordered 7 million people – a quarter of the state’s population – to boil tap water before drinking it, after record low temperatures damaged infrastructure and froze pipes, the Associated Press reported.
Newsweek contacted Griddy for further comments, but received no response in time for publication.