[kingaillas]

Yes that was Griddy that emailed their client base.

Whether or not they did it and gave their customers sufficient time to do the switch is another matter (i.e. close of business day timing, normal delays involved in new account enrollment, and so on).

EDIT: To be clear I'm not throwing Griddy under the bus for sending email late or without more time. I think they were doing what they could for their customers upon seeing the wholesale prices skyrocket. But the reality is that it takes time to switch services even under normal conditions, without thousands of others trying to do the same.

[gregw2]

I heard on the news here in Texas that reporters indicated it takes a few days to switch, so while Griddy sent the email, their customers were not able to really act on the advice amidst the crisis.

That said, I think it was bad advice from Griddy for a second reason.

I think they should have told their customers to just go to their house fuse box and shut off their power to avoid the inevitable huge bill.

I'm not sure why others haven't mentioned this but the customers did ultimately have that recourse. This is the unfortunate but logical thing to do when your 6c/kWh bill grows to $9/kWh. And at least you can intermittently turn it back on when needed to heat your house for a short bit, etc which is still better than being totally out for 3 days as many people here were.

[curryst]

I think maybe they assumed people knew that. I would have assumed people knew that; have people never blown a fuse?

Also, several people froze to death. It's a massive liability to tell people to shut their power off when it's below freezing; you could face civil liabilities. And you can't disconnect someone during freezing temperatures. I don't know whether a provider telling you to disconnect yourself would go over super well.

[gregw2]

good point regarding liabilities