Just Energy Group Inc. announced Tuesday that it has been granted creditor protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) amid the mounting financial fallout from last month’s extreme winter weather in Texas.

The Mississauga, Ont.-based company added that it is seeking Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. and that it has arranged US$125 million in debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing from one of its lenders.

The company blamed the move on recent severe weather in Texas and more than US$250 million in related payments that it owes to the organization operating the state’s power grid.

“While Just Energy hedges weather risk based on historical scenarios, the weather event in Texas was colder than anything experienced in decades,” the company said in a release.

“The weather event caused the Electric Reliability Council of Texas wholesale market to incur charges of approximately US$55 billion over a seven-day period, an amount equal to what it ordinarily incurs over four years.”

Just Energy said that no customer service is expected to be interrupted thanks to the DIP financing, nor is the move expected to be reflected in monthly billing.