Citigroup Inc. Sued by Texas Wind Farms Due to Winter Storm

On Wednesday, a Canadian renewable energy firm sued Citigroup Inc. for rejecting the force majeure declarations during the February winter storms. According to the lawsuits filed in Texas state court, it is said that the company has been billed over $100 million for replacement power. Flat Top Wind and Shannon Wind, the subsidiaries of Innergex Renewable Energy Inc., operate the North Texas wind farms.

It halted the wind turbines during the deep arctic freeze. Both of them had agreements to deliver power to Citi Energy (part of Citigroup Inc.) physically at fixed prices. The frigid temperatures had knocked out almost half of the state’s power plants in mid-February. Nearly 4.5 million people were suffering without heat or light for days. It also left at least three companies bankrupt due to the high wholesale power prices.

The wind farms are partly owned by Starwood Energy Group Global and fund run by BlackRock Inc. they declared force majeure after the turbines had frozen. However, the lawsuits claimed that Citi ignored the declarations and invoiced them for the electricity it bought at inflated prices. BlackRock declined to comment and Starwood did not have an immediate comment.

Citi said that the contracts require the disputes to be solved in New York and applying to the New York Law. Citi said in a statement, “We are unaware of any legitimate basis for these cases to be filed in Texas.” Shannon Wind has been billed for $39.5 million for four days of electricity and Flat Top Wind has been billed for $79.3 for seven days of electricity.