Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced on Tuesday that over $29 million in unpaid electric bills charged during February's devastating winter storm will be forgiven, CBSNews.com reported. The relief is part of a bankruptcy plan by Griddy Energy, the Texas electricity provider accused of overcharging customers by thousands of dollars. Griddy filed for bankruptcy on Monday, making it the third Texas energy provider to file do so since the February storm that left millions of the state's residents without power amid subfreezing temperatures. At least 57 people died as a result of the storm, according to preliminary data released by the Texas Department of State Health Services on Monday. "My office sued Griddy Energy, under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, to hold them accountable for their escalation of last month's winter storm disaster by debiting enormous amounts from customer accounts as Texans struggled to survive the storm," Paxton said in response to Griddy's bankruptcy filing. Griddy's plan offers "releases to approximately 24,000 former customers who owe $29.1 million in unpaid electric bills," according to Paxton. He said his office is in ongoing negotiations with the provider "to attempt to address additional relief for those Griddy customers who have already paid their storm-related energy bills."
