Texas electric grid council ends operations of power company Griddy, Bloomberg reports
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas on Friday cut Griddy Energy’s access to the state’s power network, according to a Reuters report.
The council, the operator of the state’s major power grid, ended, because of nonpayment, Griddy’s ability to operate in the Texas electricity market, according to a Bloomberg report that referred to a market notice. Griddy has been the recipient of complaints of high bills during last week’s period of low temperatures, ice and snow.
The council moved Griddy’s customers to other utilities.
Retail power providers who do not pay invoices within 72 hours can have customers reassigned to other companies, according to the Bloomberg report.
Griddy’s business model relies on a low monthly membership fee. Customers pay wholesale market prices for electricity that are often below the fixed rate set by other electric providers.
That equation shifted significantly during President’s Day weekend, when the company urged its 29,000 customers to find another provider that would not expose them to the volatility of the market. Most Texans pay fixed rates for electricity through retail electric providers, electric cooperatives or municipal utilities.
Wholesale prices shot up by 10,000%, to the price cap of $9 per kilowatt-hour, for days during the storm, a phenomenon that had usually been limited to a few hours per year during summer heat waves.
