What are free nights and weekends plans? These plans give you free electricity during certain times of the day or days of the week. While free always sounds good, you’ll have tradeoffs, and you’ll often pay more during the non-free time than you would with a standard fixed rate plan. Whether this type of plan is best for your home really depends on when and how you use electricity.
For example, you’ll pay nothing for electricity from 8pm to 6am, but 20 cents per kWh for energy the rest of the time, plus delivery. Meanwhile, you could simply choose a fixed rate plan at 8 cents per kWh plus delivery. Do you really want to avoid using the air conditioning when you get home at 6pm each night?
Are Free Nights and Weekends Electricity Plans Worth It?
A free nights and weekends electricity plan may fit if you’re able to shift how you use power. Here are some examples.
Worth it if you:
- Work outside the home during the day
- Travel all week for work and are only home weekends
- Run high-use appliances after 9pm
- Charge an electric vehicle at night
- Can use moderate AC until the free time
Not worth it if you:
- Work from home
- Have young children or elderly family members at home
- Can’t shift your usage patterns
- Don’t have a smart thermostat
It’s important to understand that energy companies don’t make money giving away power for free. They make up the cost by charging you more during other times. The advertised rate includes assumptions on how much free power you’ll use. They are betting that you can’t shift your power use to match their assumptions, and they’ll win by charging you that high daytime/weekday rate.
But you can still benefit from these plans when you understand how they work. Use Smart Meter Texas data to understand when you use power. If your energy usage habits fit the assumptions, or you can shift your power usage to use even more free power? You win the game and beat the electricity company. Or simply choose from our recommendations of the best free nights and weekends options.
What are the Best Free Nights and Weekends Plans in Texas?
All that said, there ARE good free nights and weekends plan in Texas that can actually give you a chance at savings. We judge free nights and weekends plan on being fair and balanced:
- Fair: The advertised price reflects realistic usage patterns, and the price is similar to their fixed rate. You won’t have to make major changes to your usage to hit the advertised rate. And if you can shift usage, you win.
- Balanced: The rate for your paid hours is reasonable, not over-inflated to offset your free electricity.
🏆Best free nights electricity plan in Texas: Atlantex Power Luminous Nights. Free power from 9pm to 9am daily (12 hours of free power). At an average rate that assumes 50% of your power is free, it comes in at 10 cents less than the big provider. The daytime rate isn’t inflated, and the average price tracks closely to their fixed rate plan. You will be charged for 100% of your delivery costs. Enroll through ElectricityPlans for an exclusive discount off published rate.
🏆Best free weekends electricity plan in Texas: Champion Energy Free Weekends. Free energy from 12am Saturday through 11:59pm Sunday. Average pricing assumes you use 30% of your power on weekends, weekday rates are reasonable, and the overall price is in line with their fixed rate plan. You will be charged for 100% of your delivery costs. Enroll through ElectricityPlans for an exclusive discount off published rate.
Compare Free Nights & Free Weekends Electricity Plans Near You
Compare Rates for Free Nights and Weekends Electricity in Houston
| Plan Name | Term | Rate/kWh |
|---|---|---|
| Atlantex Power Luminous Nights 12 | 12 | 13.4 ¢ |
| Atlantex Power Luminous Weekends 12 | 12 | 13.4 ¢ |
| Champion Energy Services Free Weekends 24 | 24 | 13.8 ¢ |
| Chariot Energy Free Nights 12 | 12 | 13.8 ¢ |
| Chariot Energy Free Days 12 | 12 | 13.8 ¢ |
| Chariot Energy Free Nights 36 | 36 | 13.9 ¢ |
| Atlantex Power Luminous Nights 36 | 36 | 13.9 ¢ |
| Reliant Free Overnight 12 | 12 | 17.2 ¢ |
| Reliant Truly Free Weekends 12 | 12 | 17.2 ¢ |
| Gexa Energy Free 3 Day Weekends Preferred 12 | 12 | 19.3 ¢ |
| Direct Energy Twelve Hour Power 12 | 12 | 23.6 ¢ |
Compare Rates for Free Nights and Weekends Electricity in Houston
| Plan Name | Term | Rate/kWh |
|---|---|---|
| Atlantex Power Luminous Nights 12 | 12 | 14.2 ¢ |
| Atlantex Power Luminous Weekends 12 | 12 | 14.3 ¢ |
| Champion Energy Services Free Weekends 24 | 24 | 14.4 ¢ |
| Chariot Energy Free Nights 12 | 12 | 14.6 ¢ |
| Chariot Energy Free Days 12 | 12 | 14.6 ¢ |
| Chariot Energy Free Nights 36 | 36 | 14.7 ¢ |
| Atlantex Power Luminous Nights 36 | 36 | 14.7 ¢ |
| Reliant Free Overnight 12 | 12 | 17.8 ¢ |
| Reliant Truly Free Weekends 12 | 12 | 18.2 ¢ |
| Gexa Energy Free 3 Day Weekends Preferred 12 | 12 | 19.3 ¢ |
| Direct Energy Twelve Hour Power 12 | 12 | 23.6 ¢ |
When is the Free Time Period for Free Electricity?
Each plan offers a different time period for free electricity. Here are details for some of the most popular electricity plans:
| Provider | Plan Name | Free Time Period (Daily) | % Free Power Assumed in EFL Average | Free Hours Per Night | Free Hours Per Week | Delivery Free at Night? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantex Power | Luminous Nights | 9 pm – 9 am | 50% free | 12 hrs/night | 84 hrs/week | No |
| Chariot Energy | Free Nights | 11 pm – 5:59 am | 35% free | 7 hrs/night | 49 hrs/week | No |
| Direct Energy | Twelve Hour Power | 9 pm – 9 am | 45% free | 12 hrs/night | 84 hrs/week | Yes |
| Reliant Energy | Free Overnight 12 | 9 pm – 6 am | 32% free | 9 hrs/night | 70 hrs/week | Yes |
| TXU Energy | Free Nights & Solar Days | 8 pm – 4:59 am | 42% free | 9 hrs/night | 63 hrs/week | Yes |
| Provider | Plan Name | Free Time Period | % Free Power Assumed in EFL Average | Free Hours per Week | Delivery Free on Weekends? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantex Power | Luminous Weekends | Fri 10 pm – Mon 9 am | 40% | 59 hrs/week | No |
| Champion Energy | Free Weekends | Sat 12 am – Sun 11:59 pm | 30% | 48 hrs/week | No |
| Gexa Energy | Free 3-Day Weekends | Fri 12 am – Mon 12 am | 44% | 72 hrs/week | Yes |
| Reliant Energy | Truly Free Weekends 100% Solar | Fri 8 pm - Mon 12 am | 32% | 52 hrs/week | Yes |
Frequently Asked Questions
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.
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.
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. With a fixed rate plan, 100% of your usage is at a lower 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 fixed rate) and if it matches your current usage pattern.
Most free nights or free weekends plans only include the energy charges, those costs that the electricity provider directly controls. You’ll still pay delivery charges with most providers. When you shop on ElectricityPlans, we highlight these details in the plan description. But you should always check the Electricity Fact Label to see what’s included.
Daytime rates on a free nights electricity plan vary. However, they are considerably higher than with a standard fixed rate plan. The free hours offset this, but only if your usage pattern support it.
Both are time-of-use structures that give you free electricity during off-peak windows. Free nights plans give 8-12 free hours every day. Free weekends plans typically give you free electricity from Friday evening through Sunday. Free weekends plans tend to work better for households with high weekend usage (pool pumps, laundry days, people home all weekend). Free nights plans work better for households with consistent evening usage or EV charging.
