{"id":4982,"date":"2020-01-10T14:26:40","date_gmt":"2020-01-10T20:26:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/?p=4982"},"modified":"2020-01-10T15:28:29","modified_gmt":"2020-01-10T21:28:29","slug":"why-texas-free-electricity-plans-arent-worth-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/why-texas-free-electricity-plans-arent-worth-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Texas Free Electricity Plans Aren’t Worth It"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Learn

Sometimes you don\u2019t know a deal\u2019s bad until you cut into it. Learn why you should avoid biting into a Texas Free Electricity plan.<\/center><\/p><\/div>\n

Anytime a retail electricity provider announces FREE ELECTRICITY plans, customers get an ear-full about how these great Texas electricity plans<\/a> can add up to savings. The problem is that these plans wind up costing customers more. That\u2019s because when you compare them \u201capples to apples\u201d with other electricity plans, you not only find out the free plans have rotten rates but also that they downright suck.<\/p>\n

Are Texas Free Electricity Plans Worth It?<\/h2>\n

Free electricity plans try to convince customers that subtracting a big chunk of your usage time will lower your bill. It\u2019s a very tempting idea. But at the core of all these free electricity plans is that the energy charge is higher than other plans by 50% or more. You still wind up paying LOTS more for the electricity that you use.<\/p>\n

To show how this works, let\u2019s dig deeper into the plans offered by two major Texas Electricity providers<\/a>; \u00a0TXU Energy and then Reliant Energy.<\/p>\n

Texas Free Electricity Providers<\/h2>\n

TXU Energy has long offered a variety of free electricity type plans. Its best known is Free Nights & Solar Days, a 12 month plan with a rate relying on renewable energy credits. The idea is that customers are billed for solar energy they use during the day and then credited for the amount of wind energy they use at night. Meanwhile, the TXU Season Pass plan is a more recent offering that lets customers take 50% off the energy charge during winter and summer months. The idea here is to give customers a discount when their usage tends to be higher.<\/p>\n

Is TXU Free Nights and Solar Days Worth It?<\/h3>\n

TXU\u2019s Free Nights and Solar Days is probably their best known free electricity plan. The rate is indexed to the price of solar renewable energy credits during the day and the price of wind renewable energy credits at night. Solar days last from 5 am to 7:59 pm. Nights begin at 8 pm and end at 4:59 am. Customers are billed for energy they use during the day and then credited at night. TXU argues that customers who shift the bulk of their energy usage to night time stand to save money with the plan. Sure, it sounds logical, but when you tear into the details it\u2019s not easy at all.<\/p>\n

One drawback is that the plan includes the TXU standard base charge of $9.95. As many electricity customers already know, base charges effectively add on to the price per kWh.<\/p>\n