Griddy Energy LLC has one final deal for Texans before the power seller shuts down for good: if its 29,000 former customers agree not to sue, the company will cancel electric bills that were about 300 times normal amid last month’s winter storm, Bloomberg News reported. On its first day in bankruptcy court, Griddy lawyers outlined a plan to liquidate, settle with customers and, possibly, arrange lawsuits against those that the company blames for its collapse. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Marvin Isgur called Griddy’s bankruptcy proposal “unique and really unprecedented.” Isgur, who has overseen some of the biggest corporate restructurings filed in recent years, pushed Griddy to ensure that customers understand how the bankruptcy case will affect their huge electric bills after first criticizing Griddy’s attempt to pay one of its lenders as the case goes forward. Customers face an average bill of about $1,100 because of the winter storm that sent power prices surging, Judge Isgur said. If Griddy wants to cancel those charges in exchange for customers dropping potential lawsuits, the company must clearly let people know that, Judge Isgur said. Griddy filed for bankruptcy on Monday, blaming its woes on the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which runs the state’s power grid. During the storm, Ercot, as it is known, pushed up wholesale power prices dramatically under rules Texas lawmakers have adopted that deregulated much of the state’s electric industry over the course of several decades. Griddy was barred from the state’s power markets in late February after failing to make a payment.
