‘People turn off their power because they can’t afford it,’ Texas woman slapped with $11,000 electricity bill tells RT

Texas’ infrastructure wasn’t ready for the winter storm that paralyzed the state this week, and it’s unfair that the working people are now forced to pay the price, a local woman who received a shocking power bill told RT.

The pipes in her home burst, and the water was out for four days, but it turned out that it wasn’t the worst thing that happened to Akilah Scott-Amos during the Texan cold snap. While she was lucky enough to suffer only a brief power outage, the $11,000 electricity bill that she received exceeded all her wildest expectations.

The woman was charged that much because she is serviced by a wholesale retailer of electricity. Such an arrangement is attractive when the market is stable – Scott-Amos usually paid around $40 or $50 during this period – but turned out to be disastrous in a time of crisis, for which the state and her electricity company “weren’t prepared.”

Read more: ‘People turn off their power because they can’t afford it,’ Texas woman slapped with $11,000 electricity bill tells RT