Baller Alert
  • Home
    • News
    • Entertainment
    • The Baller Alert Show
    • Baller Alert Lists
    • Baller Alert Exclusives
    • Let Me Liv
    • Ballerific Music
    • That’s Baller
    • Fashion
    • Metaverse
    • Tech
    • Lifestyle
    • Sports
    • Op-Ed
    • Travel
    • Health
  • EVENTS
  • Videos
  • Shop
  • About
  • Political News
  • en español
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
    • News
    • Entertainment
    • The Baller Alert Show
    • Baller Alert Lists
    • Baller Alert Exclusives
    • Let Me Liv
    • Ballerific Music
    • That’s Baller
    • Fashion
    • Metaverse
    • Tech
    • Lifestyle
    • Sports
    • Op-Ed
    • Travel
    • Health
  • EVENTS
  • Videos
  • Shop
  • About
  • Political News
  • en español
No Result
View All Result
Baller Alert
No Result
View All Result

Texas Electricity Firm Files For Bankruptcy After Winter Storm Blackouts

by Iesha
March 1, 2021
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
Turn off The Lights: Ontario Premier Doug Ford Warns U.S.: “They Need to Feel the Pain” as Canada Considers Cutting Energy Exports

Istock

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Texas’s biggest and oldest electric power cooperative filed for bankruptcy protection in federal court in Houston on Monday, citing a $1.8 billion bill from the state’s grid operator as the cause.

Brazos Electric Power Cooperative Inc, which serves over 660,000 customers throughout Texas, is one of the thousands of companies facing massive bill increases as a result of a prolonged cold spell last month. According to executives, the fallout challenges utilities and electricity marketers, who are facing billions of dollars in blackout-related costs.

Nearly half of the state’s power plants were knocked out by extremely cold temperatures in mid-February, leaving 4.3 million people without heat or light for days and bursting water pipes that caused damage to homes and businesses. Brazos and others who agreed to supply electricity to the grid, but were unable to do so were forced to purchase replacement power at exorbitant costs and pay other companies’ unpaid fees.

Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the state’s grid operator, reported on Friday that $2.1 billion in initial bills had gone unpaid, reflecting the financial burden on utilities and electricity marketers. Executives say that more providers are likely to refuse the bills in the coming days.

Maulin Patani, a member of Volt Electricity Provider LP, an independent power marketer that is not associated with the Brazos cooperative, said, “The municipal power sector is in a real crisis.” In an interview on Sunday, he proposed that ERCOT suspend the service charges to avoid further defaults.

Last week, the city of Denton in North Texas sued ERCOT to stop it from charging them for fees not charged by other grid users. Denton Electric could be hit with tens of millions of dollars in payments that they didn’t collect from anyone else.

Shortly after, debt analyst Fitch Ratings warned that all Texas municipal power companies that use the state’s grid could be downgraded. According to Fitch, the storm’s costs “could exceed the liquidity immediately available to these issuers.”

The Texas attorney general has opened an investigation into the blackout, seeking information from ERCOT and others about outages, pricing, and the emergency, claiming that they mismanaged the situation.

The pressure was sparked by ERCOT, which increased spot-market prices to $9,000 per megawatt hour (mwh) over the course of four days and imposed exorbitant service fees. According to industry executives, the service fees were 500 times the normal rate.

Clifton Karnei, a Brazos Electric coop executive who served on ERCOT’s board of directors until last week, signed the Brazos coop’s bankruptcy filings.

Share this:

  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

Discover more from Baller Alert

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Tags: electricity billNewstexaswinter storm

Related Posts

Trump Urges Return of Redskins:  “The Washington Whatever's Should IMMEDIATELY Change Their Name Back”
News

Trump Orders Colleges to Hand Over Admissions Data—Wants Race, Scores, and Diversity Moves on Record

August 7, 2025

Donald J. Trump is making one thing clear—if colleges want to keep collecting federal money, they’re going to have to...

Instagram Drops New Map Feature Letting Friends See Your Location—But Here’s Why You Might Want to Turn It Off
News

Instagram Drops New Map Feature Letting Friends See Your Location—But Here’s Why You Might Want to Turn It Off

August 7, 2025

Instagram just rolled out a new feature that’s all about keeping you connected, but it also raises major questions about...

Feds Offer $50K and Student Loan Forgiveness: ICE Launches Massive Hiring Campaign
News

FEMA Workers Hit With Ultimatum: Transfer to ICE or Get Fired

August 7, 2025

The Department of Homeland Security is shifting gears—and staff—at one of the worst possible times. FEMA employees are being directed...

Rasheeda
Entertainment

“Will You Go With Me?” Rasheeda Got TikTok in a Chokehold With Her Concert Challenge [Video]

August 7, 2025

Rapper and business mogul Rasheeda has fans in their feelings—and in their group chats—after announcing her upcoming tour and exclusive...

Next Post
Tiger Woods Announces Split from Nike After 27 Years

Tiger Woods Says Outpouring Of Support Is "Hard To Explain"

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

Baller News

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

* indicates required

Follow Us

Subscribe to Blog

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

© Copyright 2024, Baller Alert Inc. All Rights Reserved

Chat with Baller Alert Bot
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
    • News
    • Entertainment
    • The Baller Alert Show
    • Baller Alert Lists
    • Baller Alert Exclusives
    • Let Me Liv
    • Ballerific Music
    • That’s Baller
    • Fashion
    • Metaverse
    • Tech
    • Lifestyle
    • Sports
    • Op-Ed
    • Travel
    • Health
  • EVENTS
  • Videos
  • Shop
  • About
  • Political News
  • en español
%d
    💬 Chat