Some residents of Texas, USA, who suffered from an unusual cold wave, were hit by a hurricane called'electricity charge bomb' this time.
According to a Fox News report on the 20th local time, electricity bills for some residents in the region are charged from millions to as much as 20 million won for a month, causing controversy.
Ty Williams from Arlington received a bill this month for electricity, worth $17,000 and $18.81 million in our money.
Williams said that he paid an average of 730,000 won per month for his usual house, guest house, and office.
The Lois Pierce couple, who live in a three-bedroom house near Dallas, couldn't shut up when the electricity bill was $10,000 (about 11 million won) during a cold wave.
There was a case in which a house sold for sale was turned on to prevent freezing of water pipes during a cold wave and received a bill of over 3 million won.
What the victims of these'electricity charge bombs' have in common is that they were customers of a wholesale utility called'Greedy', which has a variable rate plan.
The price of the variable rate plan varies depending on the electricity supply and demand situation, but the price has risen as the demand for electricity exploded due to a record cold wave.
In particular, when the electricity supply was shortened to the point of a massive power outage, the average price per megawatt hour (Mhw) of about 50 dollars soared to 9,000 dollars.
Electric power company'Greedy' explained that it had guided customers to switch to another power service with a flat rate plan as prices could skyrocket, but it was virtually impossible to find another power company amid a massive power outage.
When complaints over the bomb charges struck, Texas authorities launched an investigation.
Governor Greg Abbott said it is unacceptable for residents who suffered from the cold to be hit again by extremely high electricity bills, and "we will come up with a response."
(Photo = Getty Image Korea)