Reviews for Brilliant Energy

Quick Links

Reviews by Star

The best review categories for Brilliant Energy are their plans and pricing, with an average of 1.8 stars, and the order experience, with an average of 1.7 stars.

Recent Good Review from Hayden

Cut off my Power

Recently moved into a new house. Signed up for Brilliant Energy's 3 month plan. I signed up on May 27, 2020 with a start date of June 5, 2020. Upon signing up i got two emails, one confirming my plan and another asking me to set up an online account which i did. Done, everything was set up and easy. We move in to the house on June 6 and have no issues, power is on. Fast forward to today, June 30, around 9:00am the power was shut off. I call Brilliant Energy and they informed me that my account was shut off because i failed to send them a copy of my Driver's license and something else. She tells me an email was sent to me the May 27 with a request for those documents. I tell her i did not receive that email nor any follow up emails regarding this. I ask if i can provide those documents now and she tells me that they no longer offer the 3 month plan i signed up for and i would have to sign up for a 1, 2,or 3 year plan at more per kW. At this point i am upset and ask to speak with someone else and she says no. So i ask her "What am i supposed to do then?" she says "You can go online and sign up for a different plan or i can sign you up for one of our reasonable plans". I say "Again i have no power so how am i supposed to sign up for another provider?" She doesn't respond and i hang up. I go to a local store and use their internet to sign up for another provider.

The whole situation felt like a trap and i was lucky to be home when it happened so i could fix it.

Plans & Pricing
Order Experience
Customer Service
Account Management
Likely to recommend

— Hayden from Krum, TX on June 30th, 2020

Most Recent 5 Star Reviews

7 Customer Reviews Written Overall

Plans & Pricing
Order Experience
Customer Service
Account Management
Likely to recommend

Zero Complaints - Happy with service

I was with Reliant Energy for many years. Each year, I check powertochoose.org and saw the very low rates Brilliant Energy was offering. I signed up for the "Electric Plan G" back in January. Low rates were incredible. Very easy process to sign up on the web. I had a few questions, so I emailed their customer support. I received a response in less than 30 min from Nadia. Great!!

Bill payment very easy thru their website.

Overall, i have zero complaints. Happy with service so far

Plans & Pricing
Order Experience
Customer Service
Account Management
Likely to recommend

— Richard from Round Rock, TX on April 10th, 2017

Great Customer Service!

I've had several occasions to call Brilliant Energy. Every time I call, I get courteous treatment and knowledgeable information. I'm in my second year with Brilliant, and my bills are quite reasonable compared to other rates in today's economy.

Plans & Pricing
Order Experience
Customer Service
Account Management
Likely to recommend

— Sylvia from Irving on September 17th, 2016

Great experience!

I continue to have a fantastic experience with brilliant energy! Great customer service!!

Plans & Pricing
Order Experience
Customer Service
Account Management
Likely to recommend

— Isabel from Houston on February 19th, 2015

Best rates and service

The best electric company. 3rd renewal goes in today !

Plans & Pricing
Order Experience
Customer Service
Account Management
Likely to recommend

— Trevor Khurana from Spring on December 7th, 2013

LOVE This Company!!

I love this company!!! The customer service is amazing! Super friendly, and when I had a question about my account they even respond to my email promptly! Awesome! Best Rate in Texas! I would highly recommend this company to anyone!!

Plans & Pricing
Order Experience
Customer Service
Account Management
Likely to recommend

— Sarah from Plano on July 23rd, 2013

Going on 3 years now

Ive been using Brilliant Energy for 3 years and havent had any problems. I always receive a quick response to emails; havent had any issues paying through their website; no sneaky charges. They give me plenty of advance notice when my contract is about to expire, unlike other providers Ive used. Their prices are consistently lower than many of the others. Unless theres a significant difference in what they charge Ill stick with them.

Plans & Pricing
Order Experience
Customer Service
Account Management
Likely to recommend

— Susan from Irving on December 20th, 2012

Highly recommended

Brilliant Energy provided a great 2 year price lock energy plan. No problem billing and service.

Plans & Pricing
Order Experience
Customer Service
Account Management
Likely to recommend

— John Robinson from Round Rock on September 11th, 2012

Most Recent 4 Star Reviews

13 Customer Reviews Written Overall

Read All 4 Star Reviews

Plans & Pricing
Order Experience
Customer Service
Account Management
Likely to recommend

No Problems, good rates

I switched to using them and have been with them almost 2 years. I have been happy with them, rates are up front and I have had no issues with extra hidden fees. This is the 3rd electric company I have used in the past 6 years, and they all have been fine, it comes down to the money and terms. From the time I sent many inquiries about signing up with them before doing so, throughout my time with them, customer service has always been helpful and friendly. My renewal is up next month, so as before I shop around at each renewal period for best rates. If the price is right I would stay with them.

Plans & Pricing
Order Experience
Customer Service
Account Management
Likely to recommend

— Monica from Pflugerville on October 12th, 2015

1 Year - No Issues

Switched from Gexa to Brilliant in 7/2012 due to Gexa pricing going through the roof. Had no issues for the year. Everything set up for auto-bill. No surprises. Not staying with them for the 2nd year simply because of pricing. Rated billing & acct mngt 4 stars instead of 5 simply because they did not get a web portal for the account until 12/2012. With everything on auto-pay, though, never really missed it. Not rating Customer Service because I never had to use it.

Plans & Pricing
Order Experience
Customer Service
Account Management
Likely to recommend

— RCH from Cypress on June 27th, 2013

2 Years and no issues

I have never had an issue with Brilliant, and would recommend them to anyone. I havent not been over charged and my rate has never been not changes during the contract period. When I moved from one apartment to another there was no issue either.

I have been a very satisfied customer

Plans & Pricing
Order Experience
Customer Service
Account Management
Likely to recommend

— Christie M from Euless on February 25th, 2013

So far so good

Great rates. I've been with them since 2010 and always take a 12-month contract, fixed rate only. The minimum usage went up from $5/500 kw to $9/1000 kw, which was disappointing, but even with that, it's still one of the lowest rates out there. I've only dealt with customer service twice, once before I ordered because I had questions and another time to change my email address for them to send bills. They didn't sound too friendly or enthusiastic or eager to help, but they did what I needed them to do. No billing issues except for one time I got a bill twice, but I just emailed back saying that I had already paid it, and they emailed back promptly to say that they were aware of a glitch in their system and to disregard the extra unnecessary bill. There are no extra charges or fees on the bill like I've seen with some other companies. I can't say I'll never switch, but right now I'm happy with Brilliant.

Plans & Pricing
Order Experience
Customer Service
Account Management
Likely to recommend

— Cee from Dallas on January 14th, 2013

Trouble Free with Brilliant

I have been with Brilliant for the past two years and recently left this October after my 2 year contract expired. During that two year contract Brilliant serviced my account flawlessly. I paid my Brilliant Electric bill via online banking bill pay with my bank. A couple of times my check arrived late and I called for customer service. Both times I was treated with respect and the customer service representative took care of me. I would still be with Brilliant, but after my two year contract expired I found another provider that was a few cents cheaper per Kwh, so I moved. Brilliant Electric is a great company to do business with. No regrets!

Plans & Pricing
Order Experience
Customer Service
Account Management
Likely to recommend

— Jay from Sulphur Springs on November 5th, 2012

WOW!

After moving from Alabama where you have no
choice in electric company (Alabama Power or no
power), and paying $300 a month (and that was
with budget billing), to Texas, I was
overwhelmed with the choices you have for power
companies. I went with TXU and was very
displeased with $400 a month power bills. I
switched to Brilliant Energy (now my 2nd year
with them) and my power bill was $120 for the
months of July and August 2011 when it was 110
degrees every day. This fall and winter, the
highest I paid was $87. As long as you renew
with them (and they will send you several
notices) you can get rates as low as $.08 kw. I
wish I knew about them before the TXU ripoff.

Plans & Pricing
Order Experience
Customer Service
Account Management
Likely to recommend

— Lori from Killeen on April 26th, 2012

SATISFIED CUSTOMER

NO COMPLAINTS WITH MY COMPANY.

Plans & Pricing
Order Experience
Customer Service
Account Management
Likely to recommend

— PAUL SELLERS from Fort Worth on March 23rd, 2012

Good rates - minimal communication

I've been with Brilliant Energy since October 2011. When my contract ended, I wasn't notified in a separate email that I was going on their month-to-month rate. This was my mistake - the notice was included with my billing email - which I missed. Other than that increase of 0.04/kWh, I have been very happy with their service. I renewed my service with them and my rate is lower than my original contract. I'll be staying with Brilliant.

Plans & Pricing
Order Experience
Customer Service
Account Management
Likely to recommend

— Anonymous from Fort Worth on March 19th, 2012

Reliable and Straightforward

We switched from direct energy last year. Our electricity bill from them had gotten OUTRAGEOUSLY high--we didn't respond to renew after our first year of a fixed rate with them, so we were put on a wildly variable rate. When I called to see if we could be put on a fixed rate, they offered something like 11 cents. So we shopped around. Switching to Brilliant Energy was easy--I called to cancel with Direct Energy, and Brilliant had already done it for me. I get my bill at least 3 weeks before the due date via e-mail, and it's easy to pay online or mail in a check. I was just sent a renewal notice, and was able to do THAT easily online as well---for the SAME price it was last year... 8.8 for 12 months. I appreciate that they will give returning customers the same deals they give new customers. We have never had a problem with them, and LOVE that our bills went from $140-$160 (with Direct Energy) to $60-$80 a month.

Plans & Pricing
Order Experience
Customer Service
Account Management
Likely to recommend

— Kate from Houston on January 23rd, 2012

The place to get power from is Brilliant Energy

It has been an awesome energy company.
It's a low cost provider
With out the head ache.
I would refer people to Brilliant Energy.

Plans & Pricing
Order Experience
Customer Service
Account Management
Likely to recommend

— Seth Wilson from Hurst on March 3rd, 2011

Most Recent 3 Star Reviews

4 Customer Reviews Written Overall

Plans & Pricing
Order Experience
Customer Service
Account Management
Likely to recommend

Cut off my Power

Plans & Pricing
Order Experience
Customer Service
Account Management
Likely to recommend

— Hayden from Krum, TX on June 30th, 2020

Brilliant Energy maybe one of your best bets....

Why aren't Texas consumers mad as hell and not gonna take it anymore? Contact the Texas PUC and ERCOT and tell them you have had ENOUGH of the non-standard pricing that Texas law allows electric providers to get away with. Some charge the $3.05/mo. smart meter charge EXTRA and ALL electric providers are allowed to charge ANY MONTHLY SERVICE FEE they wish. Some are charging $14.99/month for WHAT?....its all pure profit. Then, when using ERCOT's powertochoose.org website, NOTHING IS STANDARD. EVERY EFL(electric facts list) is different.....the price quoted for 1000kwhr per month is NOT what you are gonna pay after all the add on fees....RIDICULOUS...call/email the Texas PUC and complain...PLEASE. STOP THIS MADNESS. Remember when you were REGULATED and never had to sift through all these contracts just to get electricity? COME ON..START COMPLAINING...send email to your state representatives!!
BrilliantEnergy is one of the better providers out there, but maybe not THE best. My contract expired and they only raised my cost/Kwh by 15%...most willl raise it more than 100%. Brilliant may not be the lowest and they do charge the $3.05 EXTRA and a $10.99/mo if less than 1000Kwhr is used, but they are ok.
WHY are Texans allowing the PUC to raise the normal cost of a MW of power from $35/MW to $9000/Kwhr? This is insane. The PUC says it needs the cap to be higher to encourage power plant building and then in the same breath they let the Electric Power Providers charge you an extra $11/mo because you did not use enough power!!!! What the hell is going on here? The State of Texas does NOT have a law in place forcing the power providers to BUY BACK excess power from self generators, like homes with solar or wind generation..........START COMPLAINING!!!!! STOP THIS MADNESS!!!

Plans & Pricing
Order Experience
Customer Service
Account Management
Likely to recommend

— Captain from Houston on June 11th, 2014

Gunnerbb

With Brilliant 4 years only problem had was with first bill, after that their on line billing has been nothing but very good.

Plans & Pricing
Order Experience
Customer Service
Account Management
Likely to recommend

— Jim from Mccann on September 4th, 2013

Cheap, Dependable Electricticy

I got my cheap and dependable electricity...the bills don't always come (2 out of 12 months with no bill so far) and no response when I email them requesting one, but I love the juice! Very dependable. Half what I was paying with the big boy.

Plans & Pricing
Order Experience
Customer Service
Account Management
Likely to recommend

— Duke Midler from Spring on August 17th, 2010

Most Recent 2 Star Reviews

6 Customer Reviews Written Overall

Plans & Pricing
Order Experience
Customer Service
Account Management
Likely to recommend

Buyer Beware

We signed up with Brilliant on a rate of 4.9 cent per KwH. The Electricity FACT Label listed our expect bill at 8.6 cents per KwH. First Bill arrived an it was 27 cents per KwH. Specifically, the charges were:

807 kWh Energy Charge = $39.79
TDU Charges = $158.14
Plus taxes

Calling Brilliant for an answer -- infinite hold... sent an email, no response. sending complaint to the PUC.

Plans & Pricing
Order Experience
Customer Service
Account Management
Likely to recommend

— Buyer Beware from Hurst, TX on April 13th, 2018

Billing Issues

During the year of service contracted, I had no issues. Bills arrived, they were promptly paid and never heard anything good or bad from them. After the end of the contract and paying my final bill is when I received a letter accusing me of non-payment, breach of contract and threatening with all sorts of legal actions. I sent them my Proof of Payment issued by the Bank for this $7 payment sent almost a month ago, and expect to clear this up promptly.
They just guaranteed a non-returning customer with their attitude.

Plans & Pricing
Order Experience
Customer Service
Account Management
Likely to recommend

— Disappointing Service from Coppell, TX on March 2nd, 2018

Doesn't Seem Right.

This is my own fault.... I was supposed to renew my contract, but things got hectic and BAM! I got an electric bill double what it could have been. If you choose this company, you better stay on top of the contract date, cause they will hit you hard with their default rate. I couldn't make a living doing that to people, but they choose to. Paying the bill without question, but I'm surprised they are as greedy as they are. Not a way to treat your customers. I won't be back.

Plans & Pricing
Order Experience
Customer Service
Account Management
Likely to recommend

— Eric from Dallas on July 20th, 2013

Once they have you, they make it H#LL to leave.

I tried to change my autopay. I got verification that the autopay was switched off, then I switched accounts, and turned it back on. Meanwhile, they indicated that one bill might not be auto-debited so I made a web payment to the 'new' account. The web payment was debited. However, when I turned autopay back on, that bill was again debited but still from my old account even though I'd switched accounts. Now, going forward, their computer says that they'll autodebit the original account which I want to close. Um, no - and give me my money back. Also, I tried to switch and my new company accidentally switched a day early. Now Brilliant charged a $200 early termination fee for 1 day early.

Plans & Pricing
Order Experience
Customer Service
Account Management
Likely to recommend

— DN from Houston on March 20th, 2013

Brilliant Energy is brilliantly priced

Ordering and set up seemed easy. They transposed my address and turned off and on my across the street neighbor - I had NO electric the day I moved in. Once I got a customer service person, they fixed it as quickly as possible. I thought I signed up for auto debit which took several months to sort out. I never get a bill - neither on paper or email as promised. I can't even access a bill on line. My bill is strangely low - between $50 - $70, so I am not going to complain. You get what you pay for. I don't know how they do it, but it is SUPER cheap which is fine with me. I haven't had any problems really, so I don't mind that they have virtually no customer support.

Plans & Pricing
Order Experience
Customer Service
Account Management
Likely to recommend

— Miss Marshall from Dallas on December 2nd, 2011

Accounting Problems

Even though we paid on time each month, we always received a disconnect notice. Customer Service suggested we pay directly on their website to eliminate the problem. The problem continued.

The final straw was when they called me at work to tell me that they were about to disconnect...two weeks after I made the payment and had received a confirmation email from them.

I told the supervisor that if it happened again I was going to report them to the Public Utility Commission. That was two months ago and it hasn't happened again, but I'm getting ready to switch to a different provider in a couple of days.

Plans & Pricing
Order Experience
Customer Service
Account Management
Likely to recommend

— Mrs. Smith from Fort Worth on December 1st, 2010

Most Recent 1 Star Reviews

41 Customer Reviews Written Overall

Read All 1 Star Reviews

Plans & Pricing
Order Experience
Customer Service
Account Management
Likely to recommend

Worst customer service ever. Never can talk to a live person

I contracted with brilliant energy back in December 2019 as we all know Covid affected us all I close my business this year in March 2021. I cannot get someone to answer the phone because since Im out of business I should not have to pay a $935.52 disconnect fee I am no longer in business and no longer physically located at that location. However they want to tell me theyre going to take me to court .There is no one to talk to in collections. And no number on the letter. Brilliant energy is the worst energy Provider of all an all-time

Plans & Pricing
Order Experience
Customer Service
Account Management
Likely to recommend

— Very Dissatisfied User from on April 27th, 2021

Brilliant Energy out of business

They do not answer the phone. Email does not work. Web site shows 20 cents per hour. Email inbox is full and will not accept mail.

Plans & Pricing
Order Experience
Customer Service
Account Management
Likely to recommend

— Bill from Cypress, TX on March 24th, 2021

Do not recommend

I do not recommend this company

Plans & Pricing
Order Experience
Customer Service
Account Management
Likely to recommend

— Jennifer from Houston, TX on February 25th, 2021

Terrible service and will take advantage of over charging you if they are given the opportunity

The average rate I was given in my contract per kilowatt(electric service) was .10 and when contract expired they went up to an average .18 per kilowatt(electric service). My other company I was going to go with could not find meter so they were given an opportunity to raise price and they did as you see above dramatically. I have switched now but please be careful with Brilliant if allowed an opportunity they will take what they can. I called to try and speak to them about not charging me so much and they said nothing they can do since I did not renew my contract on time with them. Matter of fact I spoke to Abraham Serrano (who is the director of customer service & collections) and all he did was interrupt me in the middle of my sentences non stop. I would be talking and he would just jump right in and start talking over me so we were continuously talking at same time. I felt more like I should be listening then talking as he interrupted me pretty much anytime I tried to talk. I could not believe how unprofessional he was in not letting me finish my sentences. Not sure how he is in the position he is in but it tells you a lot about the company if he is in that position. At the end I had it as I could not really even talk. Needless to say he basically said to bad we could have given you a better deal if you would have renewed on time but you have to pay the much higher price now on those bills I was sent. Two main issues here how unprofessional Mr. Serrano was and them not trying to do anything about charging so much when contract expired. I own my own business and I am not sure I could stay in business with this type of service from anyone in my company. Just horrible customer service from Abraham Serrano.

Plans & Pricing
Order Experience
Customer Service
Account Management
Likely to recommend

— Jeremy Swindall from Pottsboro, TX on October 5th, 2020

False Renewal Terms

On 8/19, I called to cancel a one year renewal that was supposed to start on 9/1 because my home was sold. Initially, when I renewed it about a week ago, I thought Id have the house another couple of months before it sold. I explained that to the rep and she told me as long as I cancelled the renewal within 10 days of my current contract Expiration date of 8/31, that I could cancel with no problem.

Fast forward to 8/19, I call to cancel the renewal and the rep tells me I wont be able to cancel without a early termination fee unless its approved by a supervisor because they already paid up my year long contract the day I renewed. (Insert the dumbest face you can here.) I was specific with the 1st rep that I was in the middle of selling the house and didnt know how long in the renewal contract Id need services but could transfer the service to a new residence. Since it happened so quickly, I dont have a new residence yet and will be moving with family until I find one. The rep put me on hold to speak to a supervisor to see if she could cancel and then came back to tell me I had to wait until the house was closed on to send over those documents. That was the only way they would wave the early cancellation fee. I asked to send over the signed contract with the close date of 9/11 and she said it still needed to be finalized. That made no sense because then, my actual new contract would have started and that was what I was trying to prevent. I asked for her supervisor name and she refused to give me his last name. (First name was Abraham) She also gave me some generic customer service email to send my confidential contract documents to and said she couldnt give me her name either. Then, she said she would need to end the call because she had already told me the same info over and over and that she was now over her time. I am so annoyed and quickly took off my autodebit info from the site. Such a scam company that clearly is into trying to trap customers into bogus contracts.

If anyone knows who I can go to to file another complaint, please let me know. I see they arent BBC accredited either.

Plans & Pricing
Order Experience
Customer Service
Account Management
Likely to recommend

— Disgruntled Customer from Houston, TX on August 19th, 2020

Reneged on Contract!

I signed up for residential service with Brilliant Energy when they offered a decent price for electricity a couple of months before my current contract had expired. I got an email confirmation with what was to be my new rate, welcome letter, and was even able to log on and set up an account. I thought we were good to go.

Several days before service was scheduled to begin, I called them to confirm just to make sure we were set to make the switch. I was told that because they could not access my credit report on the day I signed up that they would not use our agreed upon rate and that I could "choose from our current plans" which were of course 20% higher than our agreed upon plan. All they had to do was LMK they needed more credit information either by phone or email (they did neither), but they used that as an excuse to weasel out of their contract obligation and direct me to their more expensive plans. Needless to say after that incident I will NEVER do business with them again and ended up purchasing a plan with another company at the last minute. They put me in a bind as since we had an agreement I called to just make sure they were ready to start on our contracted date, but instead i was scrambling to find a new plan (with a different company of course!) several days before my old contract was set to expire.

Do not trust them to honor their contractual obligations!!!!!

Plans & Pricing
Order Experience
Customer Service
Account Management
Likely to recommend

— Phil T. from Houston, TX on July 17th, 2020

Gotcha fees

Avoid if possible - if already enrolled, watch out for "gotcha" fees, and take screenshots of enrollment!

May 25, 2020: Set up a 3-month plan and set up autopay as part of the enrollment, as we have done countless times successfully with other electric providers.

July 9: Received the first notice of an invoice (via email), and the email says that the balance is overdue and a 5% late payment fee has been automatically added.

July 11: Log in to Briliant to check, and the autopay setup has disappeared. Manually made payment and re-setup autopay. Emailed Brilliant to report the issue.

July 14: Brilliant CS rep calls to ask if I can prove autopay was set up at enrollment, which cannot be proved (no screenshots). They will not waive any fees.

Should have read these reviews first

We will (of course) be switching to a less shady provider in August.

Plans & Pricing
Order Experience
Customer Service
Account Management
Likely to recommend

— Austin, TX from Austin, TX on July 15th, 2020

Worst company around town

The rates are horrendous.
Customer service phone On hold forever.
Treat customer badly on the phone.
Why even run a customer service center like this?

Plans & Pricing
Order Experience
Customer Service
Account Management
Likely to recommend

— Adam Nguyen from Needville, TX on July 31st, 2019

Had them for years

I had Brilliant Energy for many years set up on auto pay. I was a very loyal customer. When I came off contract they set my rate above .18� per kwh and did not even put it on the bill. I had to calculate it. No phone call or email. Why did you treat me this way? Here's your review.

Plans & Pricing
Order Experience
Customer Service
Account Management
Likely to recommend

— Big A from Conroe, TX on October 13th, 2018

Way overpriced

Signed up few years back - once the contract expires they don't follow up - as their out of contract price is way higher. Even the contract price is much higher than other energy providers. besides their cancellation fee is also steep.
All in all you end up paying twice for the electricity