Texas electricity "free market": $10,000 for one month for a 3 bedroom home

[steve2470]

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/deep-freeze-subsides-texans-now-face-electricity-bills-10-000-n1258362

Royce Pierce and his wife, Danielle, who live in Willow Park, west of Dallas, have been watching their electricity bill tick up by nearly $10,000 in the last few days for their three-bedroom home. While the family told NBC News they consider themselves lucky because they’ve had power, the financial burden has come with additional challenges.

Since the family is on a variable rate plan with Griddy, the company automatically debits the bill as they use electricity. Danielle said she closed the debit card connected to their electricity bill because Griddy wiped it out. The family has been using separate accounts and credit cards to pay for necessities as the storm goes on.

“We are hoping there will be relief,” Royce said. “This is something maybe we can skate by and tackle as time goes on but how many people can’t? A lot.”

[WestLosAngelesGal]

1. Those rates should be illegal!

I would be flipping out!

[jimfields33]

16. That's why I never chose variable rate.

You always want fixed rate. The couple were getting a low rate for awhile but then the rate change. Same thing can easily happen to a mortgage. The couple took a risk but it didn’t work out.

[AllaN01Bear]

2. free market my tush.

price gouging all the way.

[Make7]

3. The invisible hand of the free market is the most efficient way to set fair prices. ( n/t )

[DBoon]

6. you may end up strangled by the invisible hand, though

[Make7]

15. Perhaps. If that's the case, it must have a good reason.

Like protecting corporate profits.

[Cirque du So-What]

8. ...

[ffr]

4. From California

How do you like me now, Texas!

[edhopper]

5. Depending on how wide spread this is

if the GOP government doesn't do something about this, it could end them.

[roamer65]

7. A lot are going to pack up and leave.

Just like Katrina.

[sarcasmo]

10. Climate migration continues.

[roamer65]

11. I think we are about 5 years away from population growth again, sarcasmo.

Moderating climate, tons of fresh water and we keep shit running here in Michigan.

The keep shit running is gonna become pretty damn important for a lot of people.

[sarcasmo]

12. Grew up in Michigan and living in Wisconsin. Alliant Energy keeps the power on

with three weeks straight of sub zero temps. I'm staying in Wisconsin.

[roamer65]

13. DTE Energy kept us on as well.

We store nat gas for the Wisconsin utilities here in Michigan. I didn’t know this before the crisis, but we have the most underground nat gas storage of anywhere in the US.

I can see migration to WI coming as well.

[jpak]

9. "We're hoping for relief "

Good luck with that socialist weakling snowflake hope in Abbot/Cruz world.

Bootstraps!

Yup

[Liberal In Texas]

14. Well, this isn't like everybody is getting bills like this. It's like variable rate mortgages.

Anybody with half a brain would never sign up for this Griddy company.

Griddy's prices are controlled by the market, and are therefore vulnerable to sudden swings in demand. With the extreme weather, energy usage has soared, pushing up wholesale power prices to more than $9,000 per megawatt hour — compared to the seasonal average of $50 per megawatt hour.

It seems cheap when there is abundant production and the rates are low, but when something like this happens, boy howdy.

This type of marketing should be illegal, but try and get a repub to regulate anything is like trying to keep Cruz from going to Mexico when it snows.