Many people have a supplier separate from their utility company for electricity and many of these people are not notified when their account is in danger of moving from a fixed rate to variable rate.
Variable rates for electricity can be very high at times. I work for an electricity supplier as a customer service rep & I've seen variable rates as high at 18 cents per kilowatt hour. Unless the state requires renewal notices many companies don't send them. And because it takes between 1 & 2 billing cycles for any rate changes to go into effect many people are trapped paying bills they can't afford even though they've signed up for a new fixed contract.
Please require in all states that a paper or email notice be sent to all customers 2 months before a fixed rate comes to an end.