Officials in Texas announced Saturday investigations into the causes of the state's widespread power outages and an energy bills spike following the state's winter storms.

Why it matters: Millions of Texans lost power and water during last week's storms. In the aftermath, wholesale power prices rose from roughly $50 per megawatt hour to $9,000, WFAA reports — noting some Texans faced bills of up to $17,000 so far this month.

When your electric company tells you to switch but there has been a hold on switching for over a week now. Using as little as possible 1300 sq ft house and this is my bill. . How is this fair. I only paid $1200 for the whole 2020 year @FoxNews @wfaa @tedcruz @GovAbbott pic.twitter.com/AylTS4m0j4

— kat and tony (@katandtonyT) February 18, 2021

What's happening: Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said in a statement after holding an emergency meeting with the state's Republican and Democratic legislative members it's "unacceptable for Texans who suffered through days in the freezing cold without electricity or heat to now be hit with skyrocketing energy costs."

• The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT), the state's utility regulator, announced Saturday that it has opened an investigation "into the factors that combined with the devastating winter weather to disrupt the flow of power to millions of Texas homes."

Of note: Abbott has called the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) "kind of opaque, the way it’s run.

• Critics argue that the agency operates under his leadership.

What to watch: Abbott said in his statement that he's working with lawmakers and the state's lieutenant governor "to develop solutions to ensure that Texans are not on the hook for unreasonable spikes in their energy bills."

Go deeper:

• Biden declares major disaster in Texas after winter storms
• How Texas' power mix breaks down
• What's next in the Texas power crisis