If there is a better example of a rock and a hard place scenario, the plight of Texans during Winter Storm Uri, having to either cope with the heat and lights off, or alternatively, pay sensationally high power bills, I don’t want to know it. Given a choice between whether to freeze to death or go monumentally into debt for power, what would you do? Take a look at one man’s story, which is simply unbelievable — and he’s not alone. There are worse tales than this. Daily Beast:
Royce Pierce, a 38-year-old contractor, is one of those Griddy customers who received a notice from the power company to abandon his service—a message he admitted to The Daily Beast he thought was “overly precautionary” as the winter storm loomed.
Now, his bill has skyrocketed over $7,000 in the last two days, he said. As of Wednesday, Pierce owes Griddy $8,162.73 for the month of February—a shocking price considering the bill for his two-story house was $387.70 just last month. Last February, Pierce said he only paid $330.
Courtesy Royce Pierce
“It’s mindblowing. I honestly didn’t believe the price at first,” Pierce said on Wednesday. “It’s not a great feeling knowing that there is a looming bill that we just can’t afford.”
Like Scott-Amos, Pierce said his family has been trying to use as little electricity as possible to keep down the insane costs, including turning down the thermostat to 50 degrees and not using the lights or oven.
“I am walking around in my bathrobe right now to keep warm,” he added with a laugh. Stressing that he is hoping for a relief package from the state to help with the bill, Pierce said he is just living under the assumption “this is a later problem.”
“I just told my wife to stop checking. There is nothing we can do now. This is already an insane thing and I don’t care about the money when it comes to people’s health,” he said, adding that if his work had not been affected by COVID-19 and he was working full-time “we could have taken care of this.”
This is not the only whacked out energy bill story in the Lone Star state.
Next part of the Texas Electric disaster? Insane bills. From a friend in the energy industry. pic.twitter.com/BwMOHYZkT4
— Eric Heggie (@EricHeggie) February 16, 2021
People are also trying other ways to stay warm, with disastrous results.
Some residents have attempted to use their BBQ pits, campfire grills, or stovetops inside their homes to stay warm. Several people have died, including a Sharpstown woman and an 8-year-old girl who suffered suspected carbon monoxide poisoning after running their car in the garage to generate heat.
“This is a public health emergency. We have seen both adults and children in our emergency rooms for carbon monoxide poisoning as people without power do anything they can to keep their families warm during this arctic blast that has plagued the Houston area,” [ER doctor Sam] Prater added, stressing that residents should bundle up in layers and only warm-up in their cars outside of the garage.
This is beyond the pale. If there is a better example of insult added to injury, I don’t want to know about it.
What happens with unregulated free market capitalism, or, why people are starting to think socialism with effective government might be a good idea.
Exhibit A.
Oh nooooos! Don’t you know that Socialism and the Green New Deal caused all the problems in Texas? I know that’s true ‘cuz Governor Whosonfirst said so on Faux Noose.
This is clearly an example of price gouging during an emergency.
This is illegal in my state and should be in Texas……but considering the embedded “every man for himself” and “pull up by your bootstraps” ideology there, probably not.
Texas is starting to sound more like Hell to me, than a normal state. This is anything but normal.
Well it may just take Hell freezing over to finally turn Texas blue.
Between the Republican created power debacle and Ted getting caught sneaking away to Mexico while O’Roarke is involved in calling Texas seniors and assisting them in to shelters……. it’s not a very good look for them.
Yikes. Only 24 more hours for temperatures to kinda be above freezing. Saturday in Irving TX. And on Friday well get a few hours. & … yeah, roads well get packed with folks looking for stuff.
Y’all did notice that ERCOT removed names of board of directors. Yeah, good thing Texas has lots of … ammo. ffs.
I heard of one woman who’s already gotten a bill for more than $200K.
Part of the problem is that TX has nearly-unregulated electric utilities, and much of the rural population is served by co-ops that buy power.
the guy in the article gambled and lost. griddy helps you pay lower bills in normal weather. but you take a risk if the wholesale price of energy goes up. I pay a steady rate to my city owned utility so while my bill will be higher than usual it won’t be out of this world.
Texas is a big ass state. Second in size only to Alaska, and in population only to California. That population includes a TON of goobers who harbor a lot of stupid thoughts, are easily manipulated and like to brandish their GUNS. I wonder how likely it is that when things thaw out some down there that some of these nutjobs decide they aren’t going to take this price gouging without letting the executives at these power companies know how they feel? I have a sick feeling that at least a few folks who are connected to these outrageous power bills and were rubbing their hands with glee over the financial windfall they decided to grab are going to be needing some serious security. Sadly, so will their families.
Of course, conservatives in Texas who still outnumber sane people and their steadfast refusal to take even basic measures to mitigate against this type of thing is typical. As Rachel Maddow noted current events and even 2011 aren’t the first time Texas has had its power grid overwhelmed by sustained cold weather. Conservatives in that state hate regulation of any kind. That’s why so many places there (not where the well off people live of course) are accidents waiting to happen. Chemical and oil production facilities and god knows what else where hazardous materials are concerned. Remember how folks were wading through toxic stew in the streets outside their middle class homes after a recent hurricane? But they STILL keep voting Republicans into power.
I didn’t mean that to be a pun, but having just written it it’s kind of appropriate. All them “gub-mint hatin” conservatives that put Republicans in power are once again left without any. Freezing. Suffering. Cold and hungry and dehydrated and other stuff like toilets they can’t flush. There’s no telling how many homes will be badly damaged by burst pipes and water damage (which unless they were lucky and shopped for JUST the right insurance) won’t be covered. It’s hard to have sympathy for the conservative assholes, but there are an awful lot of sane people down there who have worked hard in recent years to get Democrats in charge of things and they are suffering and dying too.
One last thing. We are in for a gigantic helping of hypocrisy because ALL of those conservatives who HATE the federal government and INSIST it’s useless will be standing there with their hands out when FEMA starts providing financial assistance. And complaining that the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT didn’t completely rebuild their homes for them, which btw FEMA assistance was never intended to do.
Applaud! Denis Elliott
Lots of paranoia turning up here. While I’m no friend of politicians as a group, and detest the hive mind if corporations, I see neither opportunism nor politics at work in this unfortunate situation.
I see inefficiency and, simply, a mistake. Somebody or something made a boo-boo.
Why regulations matter: nearly all of us live in states where companies are regulated so that customers are not abused with wildly fluctuating prices by averaging the costs of incoming gas or electric.
Why did the pipes break? Inadequate building codes; no building insulation, no foam insulation around each pipe’ no heated wires wrapped on the pipes.
These are failures of governance; its a trump-like failure in hiring competent directors, Companies, CEOs, contractors who were not held to standards and all chose quick profits over service to customers. Class-action law suits can be done but that takes a long time. I highly resent Texas’ digging itself into unnecessary floods by not using building codes to effect; not providing guidance to homeowners. I see little difference between this and Michigan’s Rick Snyder Selling off towns’ assets for his profit and ending with poisoning Flint with lead all while chasing a buck that didn’t belong to him. They all deserve jail time and to be sued for every cent they have.
I’ll bet other federal taxpayers feel the same; not anger to the people but to the government; willing to help with the flash, but Texas needs to tax Texas to fix their POOR PLANNING.