The top elected official for Dallas County, Judge Clay Jenkins, used Twitter to ask for help from his constituents.
Paxton is also investigating the prices charged by individual electricity providers during the storm, including prices charged by Griddy. His office is seeking documents from ERCOT, including communications between the council and electricity providers about "energy pricing and/or price increases" during the winter storm, as well as price-related complaints that the council received from customers. Meanwhile, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched an investigation. At the Saturday meeting, a group of nine bipartisan state legislators "focused on the need to quickly calculate the total cost of these energy bills and how the state can help reduce this burden," according to a statement released by the governor's office. It's still unclear how many Texans are facing huge bills. Switching electricity companies can take days, and in the meantime the price of electricity increased dramatically. As the storm moved in, the company took the extraordinary step of urging its customers to switch to a different electricity provider. One of the most popular wholesale plans in the state is offered by the company Griddy. Variable-rate plans are enticing to many people because the price of electricity is often low during normal weather conditions and because it theoretically allows people to use more electricity when the price is lower - for example, by running appliances overnight.īut when a winter storm caused Texas' grid to all but shut down last week, the wholesale price of electricity skyrocketed. Such plans charge different prices for electricity depending on how much demand there is. Residents with variable-rate power plans are being hit the hardest. Many residents face enormous bills for the electricity they used during the storm. But those who had power, even intermittently, are also paying a price - literally.
Millions of Texas residents suffered last week when a winter storm caused a statewide electrical grid failure. Some Texas residents are facing enormous power bills after wholesale prices for electricity skyrocketed amid last week's massive grid failure. Ohioans with a gross annual income at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty guidelines who get their power from AEP Ohio, or other companies regulated by the PUCO, are eligible for this program.Power lines near Houston on Feb. State of Ohio’s Percentage of Income Payment Plan Grant funds apply directly to an account that prevents disconnection of or restores electric service. LIHEAP provides federally funded assistance to help families manage energy costs.ĪEP Ohio partners with Dollar Energy Fund to help families pay their electric bills. If eligible, and while funds last, Ohioans can receive assistance with rent, mortgage, or utilities from the state, through their local Community Action Agency. Request a monthly payment plan to pay off your AEP Ohio balance in full. Get a little more time to pay with a one-time payment extension from AEP Ohio. There are options to give you more time to pay, set up payment plans or work with a community agency to help reduce your payment. We recognize that financial hardships happen - especially during a pandemic - and sometimes you need a little extra support paying your bills.