Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Tuesday that more than $ 29 million in unpaid electric bills were charged during February devastating winter storm will be forgiven. The relief is part of a bankruptcy plan by Griddy Energy, the Texas electricity supplier accused of overcharging customers for thousands of dollars.
Griddy filed for bankruptcy Monday, making it the third largest energy supplier in Texas since the February storm that left millions of residents of the state without electricity amid low freezing temperatures. At least 57 people died as a result of the storm, according to preliminary data released Monday by the Texas State Department of Health Services.
“My office sued Griddy Energy, under the Texas Misleading Business Practices Act, to hold them responsible for their escalation from last month’s winter storm disaster, charging huge amounts of customer bills as the Texans struggled to survive the storm, “Paxton said in response to Griddy’s bankruptcy filing.
According to Paxton, Griddy’s plan offers “releases to approximately 24,000 former customers who owe $ 29.1 million in unpaid electricity bills.” He said his office is in ongoing negotiations with the supplier “to try to fix additional relief for those Griddy customers who have already paid their storm-related energy bills.”
“Through the bankruptcy plan, Griddy will release all outstanding payment obligations for Texas consumers who were unable to pay their energy bills due to the high prices charged during the storm,” according to the attorney general. “Texas will reduce the demand of state courts and the demand for civil investigation and Griddy will work with her in good faith to resolve these issues. Texas and Griddy will work in good faith to resolve the relief of the Texans who have already paid.”
Negotiations on paid bills could affect customers like Lisa Khoury, a resident of Chambers County in Houston, who says Griddy withdrew $ 1,200 from her bank account through an automatic payment system before stopping payment through her bench. He still owes more than $ 8,000 for a power that was intermittent.
Khoury was part of one class action against Griddy seeking a billion-dollar monetary relief from the company.
“Griddy charged Khoury in the middle of a disaster. She and her husband were mostly without electricity in their home from Wednesday, February 17, 2021 until Thursday, February 18, 2021,” the complaint says. He was charged $ 9,546 between Feb. 1 and 19, about 40 times more than his typical $ 200-250 bill, depending on demand. “At the same time, Khoury welcomed his parents and in-laws, who are over eighty years old, during the storm. Even then, he continued to minimize any energy consumption due to high prices,” the complaint says.
Khoury’s attorney, Derek Potts, a national administrative partner at the Potts Law Firm, said Griddy’s billing affects Texas consumer protection laws, and thousands of electricity users are likely to be affected. .
Potts said his company “is in the process of reviewing the attorney general’s press release” and, meanwhile, “continues to move forward in trying to locate and recover the decades of millions of dollars that have actually been taken from Texas consumers.” bank accounts and credit cards during the Griddy Storm event. “
Griddy said the class action had no “merit” in a statement to the Dallas Morning News. On its website, the company claims it does not benefit from high energy prices and blamed the Texas Public Utilities Commission for last weekend’s astronomical hikes. “The PUCT (Public Utility Commission) changed the rules Monday” when it directed the Texas network provider to allow astronomically high energy prices, Griddy said, adding that it was “seeking relief” for its customers. Texas Electric Reliability Council (ERCOT), which manages their electricity flow. ERCOT is subject to the supervision of the Public Utility Commission.
The last remaining member has resigned, Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement Tuesday night. Public Service Commission chairman Arthur D’Andrea, the only remaining member of the three-seat council that regulates Texas utilities, resigned at Abbott’s request, according to the governor.
“Tonight I have requested and accepted the resignation of PUC Commissioner Arthur D’Andrea. In the coming days I will appoint a replacement who will be responsible for drawing up a new and new course for the agency,” the statement said. ‘Abbott. “Texans deserve to trust the Public Utility Commission and that action is one of many steps that will be taken to achieve that goal.”
Abbott has repeatedly blamed ERCOT for the electrical failures and called for an investigation into the council. Four members of the ERCOT board announced theirs he plans to resign immediately after the storm, two days later a seventh member had left office, the Texas Tribune reported.
In a letter to the board, the first resigning members cited concerns about their “leadership outside the board state.” Three of the resigning board members lived in other states and one lived in another country.
“We have noted recent concerns about out-of-state leadership at ERCOT,” the letter said. “To allow state leaders a free hand with future directions and eliminate distractions, we are effectively resigning from the council after our urgent council teleconference meeting was adjourned to Wednesday, February 24, 2021.”
After his seventh resignation, ERCOT spokeswoman Leslie Sopko said, “I think he’s from Texas.”
Irina Ivanova contributed to this report.