Texas lawmakers are trying to hold energy companies and the executives who oversee them accountable for the recent Texas energy catastrophe, which has had deadly consequences. Millions in the state were left without heating and drinking water after the consecutive winter storms.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against the Griddy Energy utility for the huge energy bills that some customers incurred as a result of the storm. The bills reportedly amounted to $ 9,000.
Griddy Energy charges $ 10 a month to allow residents to pay wholesale prices for electricity, instead of a flat fee. Wholesale prices skyrocketed as temperatures dropped well below zero as a result of winter storms, leaving customers with exorbitant bills.
“Griddy deceived the Texans and hired them for services that, in times of crisis, resulted in each Texan losing thousands of dollars,” Paxton said in a statement on Monday. “While the Texans struggled to survive this winter storm, Griddy made the suffering even worse, as he charged exorbitant amounts each day.”
The lawsuit accuses Griddy of violating Texas’ deceptive Trade Practices and seeks Griddy’s precautionary measure “to ensure that the Texans he serves will receive true and accurate energy services in the future” as well as court-ordered refunds to customers.
A Texan who received a very high energy bill filed a $ 1 billion class action against Griddy Energy last week. In court documents, the Harris County resident said her electricity bill totaled $ 9,340, while her monthly bills vary between $ 200 and $ 250.
Griddy did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request to comment on any of the lawsuits, but said the class action was “without merit” for Reuters last week.
The company was left “with no choice but to shut down,” according to its website.
In a statement, the company pointed a finger at the Texas Electric Reliability Council (ERCOT), saying it had asked the organization, which operates the state’s power grid, for “emergency aid” on February 16 and “they didn’t take measures. “
“It was not a choice we made,” said the statement, adding that ERCOT has now effectively closed the company. Its access to the state’s electricity market was revoked by ERCOT last week.
Another Texas utility, the Brazos Electric Energy Cooperative, filed for bankruptcy.
Brazos Electric, which described itself as the “oldest and largest” energy company in the state and serves more than 1.5 million Texans, has applied for Chapter 11 to begin financial restructuring “to maintain stability and integrity of your entire electrical cooperative system, “according to a press release on Monday.
The order was necessary to protect its customers from “inaccessible electricity bills,” said Clifton Karnei, executive vice president and general manager of Brazos Electric, in a statement.
“We will prioritize what is most important for our cooperative members and their retail members, as we and they work to return to normal,” said Karnei.
In addition, the chairman of the Texas Public Utility Commission, Deann Walker, resigned after the consequences of the energy crisis.
On Monday, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick asked Walker to resign, saying in a statement that neither the commission, which oversees the state’s electricity, telecommunications, water and sewage services, nor ERCOT were adequately prepared. “before the storm hit full force.” Texan Representative Jared Patterson tweeted on Friday that Walker “must resign”, saying he had “zero confidence” in her testimony during a joint committee hearing that day.
Walker sent Texas governor Greg Abbott a letter of resignation on Monday, according to the Texas Tribune, which obtained a copy of the letter.
In the letter, Walker wrote that the power grid failure was not caused by any individual group, but that “the interests of many people and companies contributed to the situation we face in the devastating storm”.
“I testified last Thursday in the Senate and in the House and accepted my role in the situation,” Walker wrote. “I believe that others should present themselves with dignity and courage and recognize how their actions or omissions contributed to the situation.”
Walker was appointed by Abbott in 2017 and had a salary of $ 201,000, according to a Texas Tribune database.