Paxton is eyeing Griddy, a power company that charges patrons $10 a month for wholesale utility prices. The attorney general accused the corporation of misleading Texans after leaders in the state cut off the company's access to the electrical grid, following reports of massive bills reaching thousands of dollars for one month of service.
“Griddy misled Texans and signed them up for services which, in a time of crisis, resulted in individual Texans each losing thousands of dollars,” Paxton said in a statement. “As Texans struggled to survive this winter storm, Griddy made the suffering even worse as it debited outrageous amounts each day.”
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The lawsuit follows a Friday warning from the attorney general that calls on residents "to be aware of energy price hikes." The office told consumers to "turn off autopay" and carefully review charges. It continued, "Price-gougers may be required to reimburse consumers and may be held liable for civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation with an additional penalty of up to $250,000 if the affected consumers are elderly."
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Last week, state leaders received a host of fiery complaints from residents stating utility bills were reaching costs as high as $17,000 following rampant power outages. Ty Williams, who pays bills on three properties, reported the massive $17,000 cost to ABC 8 and said his payment for all three areas amounted to just over $600 last month.
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“How in the world can anyone pay that? I mean, you go from a couple hundred dollars a month ... there’s absolutely no way," he said. "It makes no sense.”
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Gov. Greg Abbott vowed to put forth a bipartisan effort to combat the fees.
“We have a responsibility to protect Texans from spikes in their energy bills that are a result of the severe winter weather and power outages," he promised. "Today’s meeting was productive, and I applaud Republican and Democrat members of the Legislature for putting aside partisan politics to work together on this challenge. We are moving quickly to alleviate this problem and will continue to work collaboratively throughout this week on solutions to help Texas families and ensure they do not get stuck with skyrocketing energy bills.”
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At the height of the crisis, almost 3.8 million Texas homes were without power.
Texas residents also endured a water crisis following uncharacteristic frigid temperatures that fluctuated rapidly and led to burst pipes and rampant plumbing issues.
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As many as 13.7 million residents of the state were without water stability on Feb. 21, and many affected were under an advisory to boil their water, Greg Rasp, a media relations specialist for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, told the Washington Examiner. A total of 1,300 systems throughout 198 Texas counties were compromised and reported "disruptions in service."
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