(Reuters) – Texas power company Griddy Energy LLC plans to file for bankruptcy after state network shutdown cut off the company’s access to customers for unpaid bills after freezing Texas, sources familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal said.
Officials at the company were not immediately available for comment.
Griddy sold power to customers at market rates. When power prices rose to $ 9,000 per megawatt hour (MWh) and remained high during the extremely cold February days, some customers received monthly bills of more than $ 10,000.
This can be compared to an average price for power of $ 22 per MWh in 2020 in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which operates the state’s power grid.
“ERCOT has taken our members and effectively closed Griddy,” the company said on its website to customers after ERCOT transferred Griddy’s approximately 10,000 customers to others.
In addition to losing its clients, the Texas attorney general is suing Griddy, saying he is using fraudulent trading practices by issuing excessive bills.
Griddy said he urges customers to switch to other providers at a fixed rate before the worst storm hits in February.
High gas and power bills from the Texas freezing point have already forced two other businesses to protect them from bankruptcy – Just Energy Group Inc and Brazos Electric Power Cooperative Inc.
(Report by Scott DiSavino; edited by Kim Coghill)