VIDEO: Texans See Electric Bills as High as $17K Following Winter Storm

Amy Furr

Electricity customers in North Texas are looking for answers regarding their sky-high electricity bills following the winter storm.

Costs for some residents went up when the power was on and also for some when it was turned off during the extreme weather, Fox 4 reported Friday.

“Unless you’re in a variable rate plan, you should not see a change in your energy rate. When it comes time for a new contract, we may see higher prices,” the outlet said.

Arlington resident Ty Williams and his family did not lose power but did receive a $17,000 electric bill for three meters during a five-day period of use. Williams is a Griddy customer.

“Griddy gives customers real-time access to the power grid wholesale. But this week, wholesale prices were so high they hit a state-imposed cap,” the Fox article read.

Although the Williams family conserved as much electricity as possible, their bill was huge.

“Griddy urged their customers late last week to switch companies before the storm because of a high price forecast,” the report said, adding that Williams tried repeatedly but prospective providers told him a switch would take about a week.

“How in the world can anyone pay that?” Williams said of his large bill. “I mean you go from a couple hundred dollars a month…there’s absolutely no way…it makes no sense.”

Reliant Energy later agreed to put him on one of its fixed rate plans, WFAA reported.

In an update Thursday, Griddy explained the high prices and said, “We intend to fight this for, and alongside, our customers for equity and accountability – to reveal why such price increases were allowed to happen as millions of Texans went without power.”

More than two million of the state’s residents lost power during the storm that swept across the central United States, Breitbart News reported Monday.

In a tweet on Thursday, Gov. Greg Abbott said, “As of this afternoon there are no residential power outages due to lack of power generation,” and urged those without power to contact their providers:

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