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I wonder how many people realized that their bill could reach those numbers. There should be cap on the prices to prevent this type of gouging, or some kind of

I wonder how many people realized that their bill could reach those numbers. There should be cap on the prices to prevent this type of gouging, or some kind of price leveling state wide to distribute the pain.

kevin_b_er 6y ago
There was a cap and it was removed mid-storm: https://thetexan.news/texas-utility-regulator-increased-electricity-prices-during-blackouts-to-accurately-reflect-market-conditions/ https://thetexan.news/texas-utility-regulator-increased-elec...
bdcravens 6y ago
This wasn't the first time Griddy has had this issue, but it's the worst. Aside from Griddy, no one really cared because it was always the retail electric providers who had to eat the cost. On Saturday, Griddy sent out emails basically telling all of their customers they should leave their service (I was a Griddy customer; I switched, but not before running up $900 of charges over the weekend)
wmf 6y ago
There should be cap on the prices to prevent this type of gouging, or some kind of price leveling state wide to distribute the pain. This is what normal utilities do. A few customers decided to opt out of the normal system and play the electricity market and now they're reaping the results. If you gamble on GameStop stock, you lose money. If you gamble your house's power on Griddy, you lose money.
- eqvinox 6y ago
  No, normal utilities have prices being updated maybe once a year. There's a middle option of spot prices with a cap (as a service). Unfortunately, Griddy is not that option, it's spot prices without a cap (by Griddy itself). But it seems that the cap (as regulation) was also removed during this storm, which honestly none of these customers could have expected. When they signed up for Griddy, a legal cap was indeed in place.
ehutch79 6y ago
A lot of politicians getting elected feel like (all) regulation is evil, and stands in the way of business profits. These large power bills are a feature not a bug, as the customers can simply turn off the things using the power.
- MattGaiser 6y ago
  They also deliberately selected to be exposed to the rate market. Griddy is a unique provider in that.
tampatrev 6y ago
You should just be able to buy energy futures and use those that pay your bill.
gambiting 6y ago
I can only imagine that vast majority of Texans would fight tooth and nail against any kind of regulation as government meddling. They overwhelmingly want to be free of restrictions and regulations to have "freedom" to enter any shitty contract they can. So, there you go you entered a contract where your price is matched to the wholesale price? That's what you get. I don't feel even a shred of sympathy, because I know fully well that any attempts to help would be met with outright aggression and ridicule.
- IntelMiner 6y ago
  I don't think that's fair to the vast majority of Texans suffering You're asking the majority of a state of 29 million people to be as informed as the lobbyists for the electricity markets. To understand the pitfalls of privatizing and regulating an asset that is by its very nature, a monopoly (electrical distribution)
- pram 6y ago
  You realize Griddy is pretty exceptional right. My power is provided by a publicly owned utility, in Texas! If anyone met your 'help' with aggression and ridicule it's probably because you come off as a giant asshole lol
- givehimagun 6y ago
  Yeah - explain deregulation to my 70 year old neighbor who didn't know how to light her fireplace and asks me questions about how Netflix works. You're right - every single Texan wants freedom and doesn't want help. As an aside, have you ever been to Texas or met many Texans?
  - gambiting 6y ago
    Texans consistently vote for politicians who protect the rights of corporations over the rights of people and who are against most types of regulation. So your 70 year old neighbor should ask them why she doesn't have heat, not a random stranger on the internet.
    - 6y ago
whoknew1122 6y ago
Texas has a deregulated market, so there's a wide variety of pricing structures. When I lived in central Texas, I had an electric provider who was month-to-month and updated prices probably once a year. I currently live North Texas and have a 3 year contract with an electric provider at a fixed rate that was established when the contract was signed. And then there's people using Griddy, which uses current market prices. It's like daytrading, but for something you can't live without.

kevin_b_er 6y ago

There was a cap and it was removed mid-storm: https://thetexan.news/texas-utility-regulator-increased-electricity-prices-during-blackouts-to-accurately-reflect-market-conditions/ https://thetexan.news/texas-utility-regulator-increased-elec...

bdcravens 6y ago

This wasn't the first time Griddy has had this issue, but it's the worst. Aside from Griddy, no one really cared because it was always the retail electric providers who had to eat the cost. On Saturday, Griddy sent out emails basically telling all of their customers they should leave their service (I was a Griddy customer; I switched, but not before running up $900 of charges over the weekend)

wmf 6y ago

There should be cap on the prices to prevent this type of gouging, or some kind of price leveling state wide to distribute the pain. This is what normal utilities do. A few customers decided to opt out of the normal system and play the electricity market and now they're reaping the results. If you gamble on GameStop stock, you lose money. If you gamble your house's power on Griddy, you lose money.

eqvinox 6y ago
No, normal utilities have prices being updated maybe once a year. There's a middle option of spot prices with a cap (as a service). Unfortunately, Griddy is not that option, it's spot prices without a cap (by Griddy itself). But it seems that the cap (as regulation) was also removed during this storm, which honestly none of these customers could have expected. When they signed up for Griddy, a legal cap was indeed in place.

ehutch79 6y ago

A lot of politicians getting elected feel like (all) regulation is evil, and stands in the way of business profits. These large power bills are a feature not a bug, as the customers can simply turn off the things using the power.

MattGaiser 6y ago
They also deliberately selected to be exposed to the rate market. Griddy is a unique provider in that.

tampatrev 6y ago

You should just be able to buy energy futures and use those that pay your bill.

gambiting 6y ago

I can only imagine that vast majority of Texans would fight tooth and nail against any kind of regulation as government meddling. They overwhelmingly want to be free of restrictions and regulations to have "freedom" to enter any shitty contract they can. So, there you go you entered a contract where your price is matched to the wholesale price? That's what you get. I don't feel even a shred of sympathy, because I know fully well that any attempts to help would be met with outright aggression and ridicule.

IntelMiner 6y ago
I don't think that's fair to the vast majority of Texans suffering You're asking the majority of a state of 29 million people to be as informed as the lobbyists for the electricity markets. To understand the pitfalls of privatizing and regulating an asset that is by its very nature, a monopoly (electrical distribution)
pram 6y ago
You realize Griddy is pretty exceptional right. My power is provided by a publicly owned utility, in Texas! If anyone met your 'help' with aggression and ridicule it's probably because you come off as a giant asshole lol
givehimagun 6y ago
Yeah - explain deregulation to my 70 year old neighbor who didn't know how to light her fireplace and asks me questions about how Netflix works. You're right - every single Texan wants freedom and doesn't want help. As an aside, have you ever been to Texas or met many Texans?
- gambiting 6y ago
  Texans consistently vote for politicians who protect the rights of corporations over the rights of people and who are against most types of regulation. So your 70 year old neighbor should ask them why she doesn't have heat, not a random stranger on the internet.
  - 6y ago

whoknew1122 6y ago

Texas has a deregulated market, so there's a wide variety of pricing structures. When I lived in central Texas, I had an electric provider who was month-to-month and updated prices probably once a year. I currently live North Texas and have a 3 year contract with an electric provider at a fixed rate that was established when the contract was signed. And then there's people using Griddy, which uses current market prices. It's like daytrading, but for something you can't live without.