Why Some Texans Are Now Receiving $10,000 Electric Bills After Winter Storms

They’ve braved a deep freeze unlike anything they could have ever imagined, a lack of heat, no power, and in some cases, no clean water, for days. However, some of those affected but the extreme weather in Texas are also facing another unexpected challenge—high electric bills.

Several customers in Texas who use the electric company Griddy are now seeing their bills skyrocket in the face of increased need of their power supply during the freezing temperatures much of the state has been facing, with different affected people telling NBC News that their bills increased by thousands of dollars.

Griddy is a service that costs consumers $9.99/month to have them pay real-time prices for energy, with the company stating on its website that depending on the demand, prices could vary greatly for those who utilize it.

“The wholesale price of electricity is set by the grid operator, ERCOT [Electric Reliability Council of Texas], and can change every five minutes depending on supply and demand,” the company states. “When there is excess energy on the gird [sp], prices drop and can even go negative, which means you are getting paid to use electricity. And when demand is high like on hot summer days or crazy winter storms, prices can spike.”

The company goes on to share that the price can go as high as $9,000 per kilowatt-hour, though the price is predominately below the Texas average of 6.8 cents per kWh.

That volatility has now hit the wallets for consumers using it, with energy usage soaring due to the freezing temperatures, and now, though they are grateful they did have electrical service, those who use it are trying to figure out how to pay the bill—with Griddle telling their customers to actually temporarily switch their providers if they want to save money.

Among those hit was Jose Del Rio of the Dallas-Fort Worth suburb Haltom City, who saw the bill on a vacant home he listed on the market go from an average $125-$150/month to a price that has already seen him pay $630 for the month, with an outstanding balance of $2,600. Del Rio told NBC that he didn’t have a choice but to run heat and air through the home even though it is unoccupied, because otherwise, the pipes would freeze.

Meanwhile, Royce and Danielle Pierce from Willow Park saw their bill tick up almost $10,000 in the last few days, and because they were on a variable rate plan that saw Griddy automatically debit the bill, they were forced to close the debit card account because it was wiped out completely.

Outrage over the situation quickly erupted on social media, with many criticizing that such a model could exist, and blaming Republican lawmakers who wanted deregulation.

Ted Cruz, the Senator from Texas who was the subject of many negative headlines throughout the week after photos surfaced showing him heading to Cancun on vacation during the crisis in his state, was also called out over the issue.

Dozens of deaths have also been connected to the extreme weather, though The Texas Tribune reports that the real count on deaths may not be known for as much as 30-60 days.