Looking for the best electricity rates in Texas? Use our guide to find the best power prices for you, what to look for in an electricity plan and step by step process to compare electricity plans.
When choosing an electricity plan, you can consider things like usage, payment requirements (ebill/auto payment), contract term, price per kWh and whether you want to support renewable energy. Always look for a fixed rate electricity plan to protect you against changing electricity costs.
What does “Best Electricity Plan” Mean?
First off, we need to define what the best electricity plan is. Then we can talk about how to find the best energy rate for your house. Comparing energy rates and shopping energy plans is the best way to look at options for your home.
When shopping for electricity for your home, here are the things that you should think about:
- Contract term: Typical contract terms are 6, 12, 24 months. Watch for odd term contracts in the winter and spring. These are contracts that offer great value and may move you to a different renewal month.
- Type of plan: Most Texas consumers pick fixed rate electricity plans.
- Features: Some plans have added extras like 100% green energy or a free Nest Thermostat. Are those important to you?
- Price per kWh: When most people talk about getting the best electricity plan or the best electricity rate, they usually mean the best rate per kWh.
Here’s where it gets tricky. And it’s why we recommend basic fixed rate electricity plans.
How to Shop Bill Credit Plans & Beat the System
When it comes to different types of rates and energy providers, there are some that prefer more complicated rates. You can find these in our Advanced Search selection as Bill Credit/Tiered Rate/Flat Rate Plans.
With these plans, sometimes it looks like you’re getting the best rate for your electricity. And then you get the bill — and it’s a lot more than you expected. That’s because many providers price to look “good” on the Power to Choose at a certain usage level like 1000 or 2000 kWh. But if your usage is outside that specific level, you’ll end up paying a higher price.
If you want to shop for bill credit or tiered rate plans and beat the system, here are three tips:
- Use Electricity Bill Calculator. We’ll calculate every plan for you, at any usage level. Look at rates using your highest and lowest usage, plus your average. That will give you the best information on how much you will pay with each plan.
- Read our easy plan summaries. We highlight what the key usage requirements are for each plan, including what usage level they are targeting.
- Read the plan details. We break down the math, which is especially important on bill credit and tiered rate plans.
But we still recommend basic fixed rates. Here’s why.
Why Fixed Rate Basic Electricity Plans are Best Electricity Rates
We recommend “basic” electricity plans over tiered rate and bill credit plans. In our analysis, most consumers don’t save with gimmicky plans. Why are fixed rate basic electricity plans the best?
They’re easy and straight-forward pricing means there are no gimmicks and no hidden surprises. You don’t have to think about your electricity usage on this energy plan. You don’t have to think about whether your electricity bill will be high because your electricity provider had some fine print you didn’t see.
To shop basic electricity rates, just select “Basic Electricity Plans” in the Advanced Search section. Boom. Done. Easy.
If you want help shopping for an energy plan, we offer this as a free service. Just fill in the PlanScan request form, letting us know your contract expiration date and what you are interested in. Upload a copy of your bill if you have it available. Within 24 hours we’ll send your custom recommendations, with our top 3 picks for best price.
Keep reading for our step by step process to find the best power prices for your home.
Compare Electricity Rates in Your Zip Code
TIP: Some companies also offer a satisfaction guarantee that gives you 30-90 days to decide if the plan you selected is the right one for you. If you don’t like it, they’ll let you switch to another plan, or let you switch away with no early termination fee. Energy providers know you have a choice. They’re in the business of making you happy and keeping you as a customer.
What are the Best Electricity Companies in Texas?
Here are our recommendations for the best power providers in Texas. You’ll consistently find these providers in our list of featured plans. And they often have the cheapest electricity rates. But always compare rates to get the best price. Shop all rates by zip code and usage, and sort prices by low to high to find your cheapest electricity plans.
- Champion Energy (855-307-8616): excellent customer service. Discounted rates with our Champion Energy promo code. Promo code automatically applied. And customers rave about their customer service.
- Rhythm (877-649-0354): cheap green energy electricity plans including solar energy, plus excellent referral program and 30-day satisfaction guarantee that lets you switch away with no penalty.
- Frontier Utilities (855-209-0714): discounted rates vs. the big guys.
- Payless Power (866-934-3451): best prepaid electricity plans with no deposit.
How to Find the Best Power Prices Near You
Here’s the step by step on how to find the best power prices for your Texas home. Shop by zip code and usage to find the best rates.
Time needed: 10 minutes
How to find the best electricity rates in Texas.
- Search electricity providers by zip code.
- Select your monthly usage level
Select the usage level closest to your monthly usage (500, 1000, 2000 kWh monthly). Or use the Electricity Bill Calculator to enter your own usage.
- Sort by Price
Sort by price to find the cheapest electricity rate based on your zip code and usage. You can view rates per kWh or estimated monthly bill for each electricity rate.
- Review the Plan Details section
We highlight any minimum usage fee or bill credits in the summary. And you will see all the math on how your bill is calculated so there’s no bill surprise. You’ll also see the early termination fee and length of the contract.
- Enroll with the best electricity company!
There’s no point paying more for electricity. Pick the electricity plan with the cheapest price for the term you want.
TIP: Your utility company will deliver power to your home no what energy provider you pick. They manage your power lines and respond in case of a power outage. With competition it doesn’t matter what supplier you pick. For example, some people think Reliant or TXU have an “in” with the utility company, since they used to be part of the utility. Repeat after us: it doesn’t matter who you pick for your energy provider. All homes and businesses are treated the same by the utility.
Best Power Plans for High Usage Homes in Texas
The average home in Texas uses 1,200 kWh a month. But if your house is over 2,500 square feet or if you have a swimming pool and standard pool pump, you may use significantly more than that.
Use our electricity bill calculator tool to find the best power plans for your high usage home.
Just enter your zip code, then enter your average monthly electricity usage in the Advanced Search. We’ll automatically calculate the price per kWh and the estimated monthly bill for every plan. Then just pick the electricity plan that gives you the best price based on your usage level.
Check our article on how to find the Average Electricity Bill in Texas for more info on kWh usage by size of house.
Best Power Plans for Low Usage Homes in Texas
The best power plans for low usage include basic fixed rate plans, and also bill credit plans.
We always recommend shopping based on your average monthly electricity usage. That helps you find the best electricity plan for your small home.
If you don’t know your monthly usage, here are some guides. Have a small apartment around 700 square feet? You can assume that you use around 500 kWh a month. If you are in a small apartment of 700 to 1000 square fee, you can assume you use around 1000 kWh a month.
Check our article on how to find the Average Electricity Bill in Texas for more info on electricity usage by size of house.
Basic fixed rate plans are your safest bet. Look for the lowest price per kWh based on your usage.
If you have some additional time, look at bill credit and tiered rate plans. Look at the one-line description we’ve created for each plan. This description highlights the usage level that each plan is targeted to.
For example, you may want to look for an energy plan that gives a bill credit for using 800-1300 kWh. Just know that your price per kWh will be higher for any months outside that usage level. These energy plans can give you a cost savings on your residential electricity bill if they’re a good match.
Looking for Best Business Electricity Rates? Shop online for commercial electricity rates in Texas and compare offers from multiple energy suppliers.
How Does Usage Affect My Power Price?
Knowing your home’s power usage is key to getting the best price for your power.
For example, most retail energy companies display average price per kWh at 2000 kWh a month on their web site. And the Power to Choose state shopping site displays at 1000 kWh.
As a result, retailers constantly introduce new power plans “look good” at a specific average usage kWh level. They game the system to try to get one over on you, the consumer.
And that’s why you have to watch out. Because a rate that looks excellent at 1000 kWh a month may be a horrible choice if you use 1500 kWh a month. And on the other hand, a plan that looks good at 2000 kWh a month could be a bad choice if you actually use 900 kWh a month.
Here’s an example:
If you bought this plan on the 2000 kWh a month rate, but only used 1000 kWh a month, you would be very unhappy. In other words, you’d have a 30% difference in the rate vs. what you expected!
At ElectricityPlans, we review the fine print in every power plan. We review the math, and break it down in a Pricing Details section. That way you can see how the plan works … even if it’s complicated, like the one below!
So what’s your bill going to be on this plan? Exactly. That’s why you just type in your usage and we’ll calculate your price per kWh for you.
Plus, when you are scanning rates, we make it easy to see at a glance if a plan has complicated bill credits and tiered rates to look out for. Just look at our one-line summary for each plan. We’ll help you find cheap power prices AND watch out for gimmicks like this.
FAQs About Comparing Electricity Rates
The main difference between fixed vs. variable electricity rates is that, with a fixed rate, your electricity price is locked in for a set period of time, while with a variable rate, your electricity price can change monthly. Fixed rates offer protection against rising electricity prices, but you may end up paying more if prices go down. Variable rates offer more flexibility, but you will end up paying more if prices go up. Also, many suppliers use variable rate plans to pad their bottom line for investors. Variable rates will seldom save you money for this reason.
The main difference between bundled and unbundled electricity rates is how information is presented to you. Unbundled electricity rates show energy rate and delivery rates separate. Bundled rates combine the energy price per kWh with the delivery price per kWh. But just know you don’t get any discounts with a bundled rate. While the price of electricity will stay the same no matter what, any increase or decrease in the electricity deliver will get passed back to you as a line item on your bill.
The value you get from your provider depends on what’s the most important to you. You can shop based on reviews, shop based on price, or shop based on features. For example, you can shop plans that support a charity, shop electricity plans that give you extra stuff like a smart thermostat, or shop plans that pay you to conserve electricity. It’s up to you what you value from your provider.
Can You Trust Reviews to Find the Best Electricity Company?
What review sites can you trust these days? Seems like every product on Amazon has a 5-Star Review. And the same is true of power companies. It’s rare that you find a negative review for an electric company. (Other than people who didn’t pay their bill or didn’t read the fine print.)
You can look at the reviews on the Better Business Bureau (BBB). But have you noticed that everyone is an A or A+ rating?
And the Public Utility Commission of Texas also has a star rating for every retailer. But retailers get dinged for all complaints, even if the complaint is found to be invalid. So that’s not a great way to compare companies.
What about review sites for plans? Or sites like ConsumerAffairs.com? The electricity companies can manage the reviews on these sites. So they can hide reviews they dont’ like, or push them to the bottom.
Your best bet?
Stick with ElectricityPlans.com and our hand-selected REPs and plans. We make it easy to compare rates and find the best plans.
