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Griddy customers upset over electricity prices during recent heat wave

HOUSTON – Griddy customers are upset over high energy bills, and they're letting the electric company know about it.

Over the past few days, customers said they've paid hundreds of dollars' worth of electric bills.

What customers are saying

David Brooks has been with Griddy for eight days. He said he was told he would save money with the company.

READ: New electricity company claims it has lowest price in Texas

“We’ve been with Griddy for eight days. In eight days, we have been charged over $350. We've been charged by Griddy so much that today my credit union stopped Griddy from being able to charge my account," Brooks said.

Brooks, like many of Griddy’s customers, was forced to turn off his air conditioner to try and conserve energy or risk another big bill.

"It's a little warm in here. We were 97 degrees outside today. We had, like, 104 feels-like temperatures," Brooks said.

Brooks said he is no longer with Griddy because of the unpredictable energy bill. He is now with Pulse Power.

What is Griddy?

The electric company claims to be a new way of paying for and using electricity.

Griddy co-founder and CEO Greg Craig said customers pay $9.99 a month. In return, Griddy gives them electricity at wholesale prices.

What the company is saying about the spike:

Griddy said that for only the fourth time in the company's history, members paid more than the Texas average. Its customers paid 15.8 cents per kilowatt-hour versus the usual Texas average of 11.6 cents per kilowatt-hour.

Officials said it's because of record highs on the grid and the recent weather.

Griddy posted a video Tuesday apologizing to customers and explaining the spike in energy costs.

 

Weekly Recap: 8/04 - 8/10

Weekly Recap: 8/04 - 8/10 As you probably noticed, we had extremely volatile pricing on the grid week last week. The heat came on strong and prices ramped up in response. For only the 4th week in Griddy’s history, our members paid more than the Texas average coming in at 15.8 c/kWh vs. the Texas average of 11.6c/kWh. We had an unprecedented 14 price spikes, almost all of them driven by near-record demand on the grid. As temperatures got into triple-digits, air conditioners across the state were working hard and generators struggled to keep up with demand. https://www.gogriddy.com/blog/uncategorized/weekly-price-recap-8-04-8-10/

Posted by Griddy on Tuesday, August 13, 2019

 


About the Author
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Reporter, proud Houstonian, U of H alumni, and lover of all the hometown sport teams.

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