[bluGill]

Because nobody thought they would need it until it was too late.

Note that everyone at risk of this even was told beforehand to switch providers now, so there was an "easy out" if you were paying attention (In theory easy, in practice, while it isn't never easy). Or you could have turned your own power off - When you get a time of use contract the point is you want to adjust your demand to fit the price, so anyone who got a large bill failed to do their end of the bargain.