This article describes how utility customers who have variable rate contracts with utility companies can get slammed with excessive bills during extreme weather events -- or when there are other situations that increase the price of energy. This happened in Texas because of the polar vortex, but it's also happened in the MidAtlantic. Maykuth describes the impact that polar vortex had on energy rates in 2014, also because of a polar vortex.
This article lends insight into the complexity of pricing and contracts between consumers and suppliers. Variable rate contracts are often provided by third party suppliers, who have been accused (in the Philadelphia context) of predatory practices in limited-income neighborhoods.
Andrew Maykuth, "Think you aren’t vulnerable to a Texas-sized electric bill? Here’s how to check", contributed by Alison Kenner, The Energy Rights Project, Platform for Experimental Collaborative Ethnography, last modified 28 February 2021, accessed 29 April 2024. https://energyrights.info/content/think-you-aren’t-vulnerable-texas-sized-electric-bill-here’s-how-check
Critical Commentary
This article describes how utility customers who have variable rate contracts with utility companies can get slammed with excessive bills during extreme weather events -- or when there are other situations that increase the price of energy. This happened in Texas because of the polar vortex, but it's also happened in the MidAtlantic. Maykuth describes the impact that polar vortex had on energy rates in 2014, also because of a polar vortex.
This article lends insight into the complexity of pricing and contracts between consumers and suppliers. Variable rate contracts are often provided by third party suppliers, who have been accused (in the Philadelphia context) of predatory practices in limited-income neighborhoods.