Frequently asked questions
About wholesale electricity
How does Griddy work?
Griddy gives you access to the wholesale price of electricity – never marked up. All we charge is a monthly membership and all costs (electricity, TDU delivery, taxes) get passed on to you mark-up free. Oh, and we are technically your electric provider, but that just sounds less cool and totally archaic.
Can you tell me more about wholesale electricity?
It’s actually pretty neat. See, wholesale electricity prices change every five minutes depending on supply and demand. Sometimes the price goes up when everybody is using their AC on hot summer days or winter storms, and sometimes it goes down to even negative when a lot of renewables are on the grid. And that price, whatever it is on the grid at the moment, is the price our members pay.
While the price for electricity tends to stay around 6¢/kWh, it can reach the market cap of $9/kWh – but that only happens 0.005% of the time. For those instances, we do send push notifications to alert you to major changes in the market so you are never caught off guard. We also have smart home integrations so you can automatically have your AC shut off when prices jump.
Are wholesale prices cheaper even with price spikes?
For the past five years, the wholesale price has beat out the Texas Average by around 20%. There might be times when price spikes are higher than a fixed-rate plan, but over the course of a year, wholesale beats out the Texas Average.
We also send you push notifications when prices go really high (and really low) and integrate with most smart home devices so those devices can automatically shut down when prices are high – saving you even more.
How does Griddy help me save money?
First off, you save simply by going Griddy and only paying the wholesale price – which is 20% cheaper than the Texas Average.
But for even more savings, you can automate your smart home devices with Griddy’s IFTTT integration. So when prices do spike, your thermostat or other smart devices can automatically turn off. It’s awesome!
What is Price Protection?
Price Protection is an optional feature that safeguards members against potential swings in the market while still letting you take advantage of the cheaper, greener times of day. For those that love the wholesale product, you may never want to use this option. After all, wholesale beats the Texas Average 96% of the time. But for others, we understand you might want a little peace of mind from market uncertainty.
Each season (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter) we will post a low, competitive rate based on market conditions that you can switch to at any time. These rates will be higher than what wholesale prices historically have been, but you won't have to worry about the uncertainties of the wholesale market or keep tabs on forecasted prices. For those that only care about Price Protection for the summer, you can opt in to our summer Price Protection where you will automatically be switched over on June 1.
Switching to Griddy
Why am I still being billed after I've switched?
You can still get charges up to 5 business days as your prior usage gets finalized by your local utility. Griddy only charges for electricity usage during your time with Griddy. The remaining balance will be refunded to the card on file within7-10 business days of the cancellation date. If the balance is below $5.00 please contact Griddy to let us know you would like the refund and it will be refunded to your card on file.
Why is my bill so high?
This has been the coldest storm in more than 30 years in Texas and brought unprecedented weather across the country. As a result, the ERCOT electricity market has been experiencing extremely high pricing due to increased heating demand from the cold weather.
Here is an in-depth look at the specifics of what factors and decisions lead into ERCOT’s exceptionally high wholesale prices and what Griddy is doing to fight for the interests of our members:
https://www.griddy.com/post/griddy-update-why-energy-prices-were-sky-high-this-week
As of Friday, February 20, prices have come down dramatically but due to recent events there may still be some extra volatility in the market. Its a good time to be mindful of the griddy app and make sure you're getting price notifications.
Did I get charged during a power outage?
No. Griddy completely understands that services have been off due to outages in the area. However, all usages are at least one to two days behind and those are still being received from the utility. You can also register your meter with SmartMeterTexas and review your usage https://www.smartmetertexas.com to get the most current numbers.
Will I be getting a refund?
You can still get charges up to 5 business days as your prior usage gets finalized by your local utility. Griddy only charges for electricity usage during your time with Griddy. The remaining balance will be refunded to the card on file within 7-10 business days of the cancellation date. If the balance is below $5.00 please contact Griddy to let us know you would like the refund and it will be refunded to your card on file.
You can also register, for free, your meter with SmartMeterTexas and review your usage https://www.smartmetertexas.com to get the most current numbers, which will help you see what your total usages.
Is Griddy price gouging during this storm?
We've been asked this question enough times this week, that we feel we need to put it here: Of course not. We charge you the wholesale, real-time price of energy, which changes every 5 minutes. We add to that the pre-set cost of delivering the energy to your home and the taxes and fees assessed on your energy. You effectively pay the same price as a retail energy provider or utility. No markups. No hidden fees. No contracts. That’s it.
The reason wholesale prices were so high was on Monday, February 15th, the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) cited its “complete authority over ERCOT” to direct that ERCOT set pricing at $9/kWh until the grid could manage the outage situation after being ravaged by the freezing winter storm. These prices lasted until Friday and unfairly targeted people on indexed or variable plans. You can read more about the price increase here.
You can always verify the current prices across Texas on ERCOT's website. The unit of measure is dollars per megawatts, so to get your current price in cents per kWh, just divide the number you see on the chart by 1,000. For example, if the price listed is $18.20, you can divide that number by 1,000 to get $0.0182, or 1.82¢/kWh.
Technology
Billing & payments
How do I cancel my account?
If you are switching to a new provider you can simply enroll with the new provider and Griddy will receive a cancellation notification. However, if you are moving out, please email support@griddy.com with your name, the requested end date (power is typically turned off in the morning time), and the address you are moving out from. We will need to process the disconnection on our end. Any remaining balance left on your account will be refunded back to you within 7-10 business days of your cancellation date back to the card last used.
How do I switch to another provider?
While we value you as a member, we want what is best for your wallet and family even more.
To Switch:
- You do not need to contact us. Enroll with a new provider and they will switch you over.
- TDUs do not process switches over the weekend.
- Remember, we do not have early termination fees.
- Find a short-term plan. Here are a few possible options. (Griddy | How to switch | Texas Energy)
Why did you wait so long to tell me to switch and now I can't find another that will take me?
Our forecasts were based on ERCOT's data and forecasts. Once we began to recognize how poor ERCOT's projections had become, we realized our only option was to push a communication to our members to switch away. We knew this process would be very disruptive and confusing for our members, but it was in their best interest. When our communications were released, we were not aware of any providers blocking switches.
Account information
How long will this price surge last?
The price surge ended the morning of Friday, February 19th on ERCOT ended the highest energy emergency level and lifted the rolling blackout warning. Prices are now being determined by market conditions (as they should!), which means that as we are writing this message on Friday at 9:50 a.m., your wholesale price is a mere 2.1¢/kWh. Hallelujah!
What are those expense categories on the Statement Page?
Your statement is broken down into four parts:
- Electricity usage – The amount of electricity you used.
- Ancillary services – These cover a group of charges related to the purchase of wholesale electricity and passed through without markup.
- TDU delivery charges – The cost to transport electricity to your house from your local utility.
- Any one-time fees from the TDU, like disconnections, meter tampering, meter read, etc., will show up here.
- A monthly cost to get access to wholesale electricity.
- This is billed in equal daily increments so you aren’t paying a single charge at the start of the month.
- State gross receipts – Miscellaneous fees imposed by local governments.
- City sales tax – Sales tax collected by the city.
- PUC fee – A fee to recover another fee for administering the Public Utility Regulatory Act of 1975 (PUC Assessment).
- Merchant services charge – The cost to process your credit card payment.
Outages
Who do I contact in the event of an outage?
Your local TDU takes care of outages. You can reach them 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at the following:
If you are unsure of your TDU, you can contact us at (800) 993-6207 and we will route you to the appropriate utility.
You can find more information on our Outages page.
