Jesson Bradshaw with Energy Ogre says customers who use real-time market plans, getting their electricity at wholesale prices from companies like Griddy, will likely see that surge pricing with bills in the thousands.
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$600 for 2 days of power? Some Texans' bills skyrocket
"The price that's being charged is $9 per kilowatt hour. So we're going to rack up one of these large bills, very, very quickly for that very, very, very small sub-segment of the market place that was purchasing service that way," said Bradshaw.
$18,000? What you can do if you face an astronomical power bill
We sat down with Bradshaw to address viewer questions.
Question: Will my bill be higher if I'm on a fixed rate plan?
"Their rate is not going to change like that. They don't have that $9 a kilowatt hour kind of exposure," said Bradshaw.
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Question: Will I have to pay my bill in full?
"It's definitely an obligation someone can come after them for," explained Bradshaw.
Question: What should be my next step?
For wholesale customers, he recommends contacting the provider to try and negotiate the bill, then set up a payment plan.
"Every provider in the state, by statute, has the obligation to offer some sort of payment plan to customers," said Bradshaw.
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Customers do have some time to plan their finances. The Public Utility Commission met in an emergency meeting Sunday granting a moratorium on disconnections for customers who do not pay their bills.
"The disconnect moratorium is a feature that works. It works for everybody," said Bradshaw.
In the meantime Gov. Greg Abbott says he is working to find a solution to this issue, as several customers take to GoFundMe seeking personal financial relief.
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