Turn out the lights, the party's over...

From The Startlegram:

Bridgeport-based PreBuy Electric has been behind on payments for wholesale electricity and other items owed to the grid operator, according to officials. Fearing that the company has stopped operating, the grid operator has switched more than 8,000 of its customers statewide to so-called providers of last resort, which are regulated electric companies that provide continuing service in such cases.

A spokesman for the Texas Public Utility Commission said that because PreBuy customers pay in advance, it's also possible that many people may end up paying twice for their electricity.

The providers vary by region and charge different rates, although the prices typically exceed those charged by most competitive retail electric providers...

Wow, talk about bend over and grab your ankles! You're a PreBuy customer because you can't pay your bill to begin with. So you pay in advance and they walk with your money. Now, they are going to hook you up to the most expensive provider there is!

Anyone want to guess what's going to happen next?