I had no idea what Griddy was, and after glancing at the website, I assumed it was a failed tech startup. I’ve never seen a utility company with such a modern website and design language before.
Griddy Is Shutting Down
41–50 of 267 posts
Re: Griddy Is Shutting Down
#42Earlier quoted context omitted.
The problem here as I understand it is that ERCOT stepped in and artificially set an absurdly high wholesale price, to try to stimulate production. And then Griddy was forced to pass this price straight down to their customers. The narrative about this being a "market failure" seems really wrong. Really seems like it should be on TX to make the customers whole here, given that they ordered Griddy to pass along huge a…
>The problem here as I understand it is that ERCOT stepped in and artificially set an absurdly high wholesale price Incorrect. ERCOT set a price ceiling, not a price. The wholesale price without the ERCOT price ceiling would have been far, far higher than $9000 kwh. That ERCOT is at blame for the price ceiling is absurd . * ERCOT is to blame for a lot of other things though.
Wikipedia disagrees with you: “On February 15, during the power crisis, the state's Public Utility Commission required ERCOT to set the price to the $9,000 maximum. The commission reasoned that the trading prices for energy (as low as $1,200) were inconsistent with the supply scarcity.”
Re: Griddy Is Shutting Down
#43Not a fan of this. People buying electricity at wholesale prices is on them.
> People buying electricity at wholesale prices is on them.
This feels too much like victim blaming for me to agree with. In general, people are lead to believe "wholesale" just means something like "cheaper in bulk" à la Costco. I am sympathetic to anyone who was ignorant of the fact that it meant their personal rates could be much much higher too.
Re: Griddy Is Shutting Down
#44Earlier quoted context omitted.
Griddy seems like it would be a win-win for people with solar panels and decent battery storage
Do they do net-metering down in TX ?
Better. Retail price in Texas depends on time-of-use, so you're paid more per kWh for the electricity you net-generate during the day than the electricity you net-use during the night.
Re: Griddy Is Shutting Down
#45Re: Griddy Is Shutting Down
#46Not a fan of this. People buying electricity at wholesale prices is on them.
I disagree completely. This business model should never have been allowed to exist, in the same way and for the same reason that " almost fully self-driving cars" should not be allowed on the roads: humans are just not capable of quickly and correctly responding in situations where 99.99% of the time no input is required and once in a blue moon you have to act immediately to avoid disaster. Good riddance.
Almost fully self driving cars are physically dangerous to others. Whether or not you think people should be allowed to bankrupt themselves speculating on wholesale energy prices; it’s an entirely different situation.
Re: Griddy Is Shutting Down
#47I wonder why there wasn't some sort of stop-loss pricing (disconnect service if price exceeds X) built into the user agreement. That would have prevented all the negative publicity. Griddy was a great idea, but it wasn't for everyone. Especially those who don't have backup solar or generators.
> That would have prevented all the negative publicity.
Naw, it would have just shifted it to "Electricity Company cuts power to customers during Deadly Cold"
Re: Griddy Is Shutting Down
#48Earlier quoted context omitted.
It’s surprising there isn’t some insurance product to defend against the surprise bills.
I assume you're being sarcastic, but if not, that "insurance product" is "use a fixed-rate pricing provider", like pretty much everyone in the state.
Broader: Literally every other residential customer in the United States other than Griddy customers in Texas. (There’s some variable rate but not like that)
Re: Griddy Is Shutting Down
#49Earlier quoted context omitted.
I disagree completely. This business model should never have been allowed to exist, in the same way and for the same reason that " almost fully self-driving cars" should not be allowed on the roads: humans are just not capable of quickly and correctly responding in situations where 99.99% of the time no input is required and once in a blue moon you have to act immediately to avoid disaster. Good riddance.
The only way other electric companies would be able to eat the difference between retail and wholesale rates would be to overcharge for years, hoard cash, and then pay out that buffer during this crisis. Presumably, this is what they did. Doesn't actually seem better for consumers?
Except during events like this, that people are not and cannot be prepared for. Griddy going out of business is nothing -- if someone else wants to take up the business model, they can tomorrow. Individual people being charged thousands for debts difficult to discharge is the real harm.
Re: Griddy Is Shutting Down
#50This fucking sucks. I'm angry.
I have a pretty dark outlook when it comes to global warming, but when you're a griddy customer and you're watching your meter constantly, it just made sense. For a brief moment in time, a green future based on renewables felt realistic. For a brief moment in time, I felt like we might actually be able to meet carbon emission goals.
When it cost a lot to make electricity, I used less. When it cost very little, I used freely. When I was able to get paid to put a load on the grid, I sure as hell did. And whenever I was thinking about this, I was able to realize that everyone who wasn't a griddy customer was not remotely aware of what was going on with wind turbines nearby. Anyone on a flat rate plan set their themostat and forgot about it, because the cost to run their AC was fixed. Whereas when the wind wasn't blowing and it was hot out, I was aware that it meant burning more natural gas, and was perfectly fine with having my thermostat a bit higher because it was going to cost me more.
Regulation and politics have killed innovation, once again. Fuck that.