Compare Free Nights and Weekends Electricity Plans in Texas

Atlantex Power Luminous Nights: Atlantex Power’s free nights plan gives you free power from 9pm to 9am every day. That’s 12 hours of free power and around 8 cents per kWh less than the big provider’s rate. Plus they have satisfaction guarantee, which lets you change to another of their plans within 90 days if you decide free nights isn’t for you.

If depends on how you use electricity. Free nights electricity plans charge 0¢ per kWh during the off-peak window, typically 9pm to 6am. But they make up for it with higher daytime rates, often significantly higher than the advertised rate would indicate. Always review your actual time of day usage from Smart Meter Texas to it matches the assumptions in the plan’s Electricity Facts Label.

Atlantex Power Luminous Nights and Direct Energy Twelve Hour Power both offer 84 free hours of electricity per week, which is the most free electricity hours available in Texas.

If you have solar and battery, free nights electricity plans are the way to go. These plans don’t offer solar buyback for your excess power but you’ll have free electricity all night. You’ll run your home off your panels all day, use free power at night, and use your battery in-between. Consider these three plans: Atlantex Power Luminous Nights (free power 9pm – 9am, no monthly fee), Direct Energy Twelve Hour Power (free power and delivery 9pm – 9am, $9.95 monthly fee) and Reliant Energy Free Overnight (free power and delivery 8pm – 5am, no monthly fee). Read the terms of service for the plan; they may exclude solar and battery customers from signing up.

TXU Energy Free Nights & Cool Summer and Reliant Energy Free Overnight are very similar to each other. Both offer free delivery and free energy at night time, with Reliant offering free 8pm – 6am and TXU offering free 8pm – 5am. Check the pricing on both plans and choose the one with a lower energy rate per kWh. Or shop all free nights plans and consider a lesser-known brand like Atlantex Power Luminous Nights

Champion Energy Free Weekends: Champion Energy’s Free Weekends plan is the best free weekends deal on the market. It’s priced comparably to their regular fixed rate plans and less than other free electricity plans on the market.

Gexa Energy Free 3-Day Weekends has 72 hours of free electricity each week, which is the most free weekend electricity hours available in Texas.

Chariot Energy Free Days: Chariot’s free days plan is a great deal if you work from home and have a smart thermostat. Use free power to cool down your home before the evening hours. Then use ceiling fans to stay cool all night.

No, there are no electricity plans available in Texas with both free nights and free weekends electricity. Choose free nights or free weekends based on when you use your electricity. Always confirm that your usage matches the plans’ assumptions, or that you’re willing to shift electricity usage to benefit from the plan.

Gexa Energy, Reliant Energy, TXU Energy and Direct Energy all include free delivery fees during the free energy period of their plans. While this sounds like a great deal, check the price per kWh for the daytime or weekday charges. The energy rates are often inflated to ensure the provider collects enough to cover your delivery costs.

The catch is the higher rate you pay during daytime and weekdays to make up for that free power you got. When you see free, you naturally think that the free power is a bonus, but it’s actually included in the advertised price.

Here’s a simple math example, considering only the energy portion of your bill:
-Assume you use 1000 kWh a month.
-With the free power plan, you use 30% of your power during the free hours and pay 22¢ for the other 700 kWh = $154 for energy
-With a basic fixed rate plan, you pay 8¢/kWh for 1000 kWh = $80 for energy
Only choose a free power plan if it’s fair and balanced (average price similar to the average price of the fixed rate) and if it matches your current usage pattern.

There’s an urban legend out there called “The 50% rule,” stating that you can’t benefit from a free electricity plan unless you can shift half your usage to the free time period. That’s simply not true. If you choose a fair and balanced free electricity plan, like Champion Energy Free Weekends or Atlantex Power Luminous Nights you’re likely to benefit. These plans offer an average price per kWh similar to their fixed rate plans. And their Electricity Facts Label assumptions on free power are similar to what a real consumer uses.

If your first electricity bill is higher than you expected, when you use power may not be a fit with the free nights and weekends plan you selected. The good news is, providers want you to be happy. Most will let you switch to a different fixed rate plan. There are also electricity companies that offer a 30-90 day satisfaction guarantee that lets you switch plans or switch away if you’re not happy with your plan. 

The ElectricityPlans BillSmart Plan Score rates plans on a 1-5 scale based on bill predictability. A true fixed rate electricity plan is a 5/5 or 4/5. A bill credit plan is a 1/5 for predictability. Time of use plans with free electricity fall in the middle of that scale. Our recommended free electricity plans rank a 3/5 since they will give you a similar average cost to a fixed rate plan. All other free electricity plans are a 2/5. This score highlights that you need to read the fine print on the plan, and seriously consider if your usage matches the plan.

ElectricityPlans.com is an independent electricity comparison platform that helps Texans avoid expensive electricity mistakes by showing what plans really cost, before you enroll. Our BillSmart Low Bill Finder, BillSmart Plan Score, and CostCurve tools cut through misleading advertised rates and reveal the true cost of every plan based on your usage, all with no provider influence, no paid placement, and transparent pricing that’s the same or better than what you’ll find on the provider’s site.