If you’re looking for free power, the best Reliant Energy free power plan is Flextra Credits. You get your 8 highest usage days free each month, plus $75 in bill credits. With this plan, there’s no need to change how and when you use power, so the average rate accurately represents what you will pay.
In this review of Reliant Energy plans, we’ll cover the details of their plans with free electricity. We’ll compare and contrast their plans, so you can decide if one is right for you.
Table of Contents
- Reliant Energy Truly Free Nights Plan Review
- Reliant Energy Truly Free Weekends Plan Review
- Reliant Energy Flextra Credits Plan Review
- What is the Best Reliant Energy Plan?
- Reliant Free Nights and Weekend Hours
- Additional Details About Reliant Energy Plans
Reliant Energy Truly Free Nights Plan Review
The Reliant Energy Truly Free Nights Plan gives you free electricity and delivery charges from 8pm to 6am every day.
In calculating the average price per kilowatt hour, Reliant Energy assumes that you will use 42% of your power at night, between 8pm and 6am. That’s how a typical person uses power.
About Reliant Energy Truly Free Nights Plan
- Free electricity and delivery every night from 8pm to 6am
- Average rate assumes you use 42% of your power at night
- Monthly fee from the delivery company is passed through at cost
- Daytime rate is significantly higher than other plans to cover the free power and delivery
- 100% of power is backed by solar energy
Is Reliant Truly Free Nights Worth It?
If no one in your household is home during the day, Reliant free nights may be worth it. But keep in mind that you’re probably coming home before your free power starts. You’ll be cranking up the air conditioning to cool your home for dinner time.
Truly Free Nights assumes you use 42% of your power from 8pm to 6am daily. That’s what a typical person uses.
To make the most of this plan, you need to shift even MORE of your electricity to the night time. You need to be more aware than the typical consumer in managing your power.
If you can move 50% of your power to 8pm-6am, your average price per kWh will be equivalent to the average price for Reliant’s fixed rate plans.
If you don’t think you can shift your usage like that, take a look at Reliant Flextra Credits or Reliant fixed rate plans instead.
Reliant Energy Truly Free Weekends Plan Review
The Reliant Energy Truly Free Weekends Plan gives you 100 days of free power per year.
Weekend usage from 8pm Friday to 12am Monday morning is free for both electricity charges and delivery charges, for every kilowatt hour you use.
In calculating the average price per kilowatt hour, Reliant Energy assumes that you will use 32% of your power during the weekends.
And that’s the key to making a free electricity plan work for you. To make the most of this plan, you will need to shift more electricity usage to the weekends.
About Reliant Energy Truly Free Weekends
- Free electricity and delivery from 8pm Friday night to 12am Monday morning.
- Assumes 32% of your power usage is during the free period
- Your monthly fee from the delivery company is passed through at cost.
- Very high rate during the week to make up for free power and free delivery on weekends
- 100% of your power is backed by solar energy
Is Reliant Truly Free Weekends Worth It?
Reliant Energy free weekends is worth it if you travel for work during the week or you need a great electricity plan for a second weekend home.
If that’s not you, you will have to work to shift usage to the weekend. That means laundry and dishwashing only during certain times, and a higher thermostat setting all week.
To really make Reliant free weekends worth it, you need shift 39% of your power to the weekend. Doing so will drop the average rate down to parity with Reliant’s fixed rate plans.
If you don’t think you can shift your usage to the weekends, take a look at Reliant Flextra Credits or their fixed rate plans instead.
Reliant Energy Flextra Credits Plan Review
Reliant Energy Flextra Credits is part of its “Pick Your Free” program. They have free nights, free weekends, and now free highest days. This is our favorite Reliant Energy plan and one we recommend.
Reliant assumes that 32% of your usage will occur on your eight highest usage days.
You can bet they did a lot of math and data modeling to come up with that. Because simple math would tell you that eight days free out of 30 days per month are only 26% of your bill, assuming you use the same amount every day.
You also get three $25 bill credits you can apply to your electricity bill during your term. (Here’s the fine print on that.)
Two things to know about their average rate calculation:
- Your average rate will be different from the advertised rate if you don’t use 32% of your usage on the hottest days.
- Your average rate calculation doesn’t include the free $75 in bill credits that you get.
About Reliant Energy Flextra Credits Plan
The Flextra Credits plan is simple and straight forward:
- Eight highest usage days free (energy and delivery!)
- Three $25 credits to apply to any bill of your choosing. You just can’t apply them all in one bill.
- Backed by 100% solar renewable energy certificates for a greener Texas.
- Use power whenever and however you want.
Is Reliant Energy Flextra Credits Worth it?
Yes, Truly Flextra Credits may be worth it. Here are three reasons why Flextra Credits is our favorite Reliant Energy plan:
- Free money. You get three $25 credits that you can apply to any month. And that’s not even included in the average rate calculation.
- Use power however you want. While conservation is great for the Texas grid, sometimes you just want to be cool and not worry about it.
- It’s priced only slightly above Reliant’s fixed rate plan with the same term. So you can get the upside of free power and bill credits at only a slightly higher average rate.
If you don’t want to think about the math at all, go with Reliant’s basic fixed rate plans.
What is the Best Reliant Energy Plan?
Flextra Credits is Reliant Energy’s newest free electricity plan. And we think it’s the best one yet.
Free nights and weekends electricity plans rely on you, the consumer, to change your habits. Based on the data we’ve seen, most people think they can change their habits, but doing so is another story.
That’s why Flextra Credits is our favorite Reliant Energy free power plan. You get your eight highest usage days free each month, plus $75 in bill credits. With this plan, there’s no need to change how and when you use power, so the average rate is an accurate representation of what you will pay.
If you prefer an easy, no nonsense approach, their Basic Power Plan is just what it says: basic fixed rate electricity.
This chart compares some of the features of Reliant’s free electricity plans. And below, you can shop all Reliant plans.
| Reliant Energy Plan Name | Free Power Details | Who This Plan is For |
|---|---|---|
| Reliant Energy Truly Free Nights | Free electricity & delivery every night from 8pm to 6am | Two income households with no one home during the day. |
| Reliant Energy Truly Free Weekends | Free electricity & delivery from Friday 8pm to Monday 12am | People who travel for work all week or for a second home. |
| Reliant Energy Flextra Credits | Free 2 highest usage days each month. | Everyone |
Reliant Energy Rates and Plans (Centerpoint)
| Plan Name | Term | Rate/kWh |
|---|---|---|
| Reliant Power Savings 24 | 24 | 13.9 ¢ |
| Reliant Power On 24 | 24 | 13.9 ¢ |
| Reliant Basic Power 24 | 24 | 14.8 ¢ |
| Reliant Basic Power 12 | 12 | 14.8 ¢ |
| Reliant Conservation Plan 12 | 12 | 14.9 ¢ |
| Reliant Conservation Plan 24 | 24 | 14.9 ¢ |
| Reliant Power Savings 12 | 12 | 14.9 ¢ |
| Reliant Truly Free Weekends 100% Solar 12 | 12 | 17.8 ¢ |
| Reliant Truly Free Nights 100% Solar 12 | 12 | 18.2 ¢ |
Reliant Energy Rates and Plans (Oncor)
| Plan Name | Term | Rate/kWh |
|---|---|---|
| Reliant Power Savings 24 | 24 | 13.9 ¢ |
| Reliant Power On 24 | 24 | 13.9 ¢ |
| Reliant Basic Power 24 | 24 | 14.8 ¢ |
| Reliant Basic Power 12 | 12 | 14.8 ¢ |
| Reliant Conservation Plan 12 | 12 | 14.9 ¢ |
| Reliant Conservation Plan 24 | 24 | 14.9 ¢ |
| Reliant Power Savings 12 | 12 | 14.9 ¢ |
| Reliant Truly Free Weekends 100% Solar 12 | 12 | 17.8 ¢ |
| Reliant Truly Free Nights 100% Solar 12 | 12 | 18.2 ¢ |
Shop Reliant Energy Plans
Reliant Free Nights and Weekend Hours
When will you receive free power, and do these times align with your lifestyle and usage? Here’s a run-down of the Reliant Energy plans with free electricity at certain times.
What time is Reliant Free Nights? Reliant Energy Truly Free Nights gives you free electricity and delivery from 8pm to 6am every day.
What time is Reliant Free Weekends? Reliant Free Weekends hours are from Friday 8pm to Monday 12am.
What time is Reliant Flextra Credits? Rather than a time of day or day of the week, Reliant Flextra Credits give you your highest usage days free each week. You get 48 hours of free power every week.
ElectricityPlans will always show a variety of Reliant Energy plans, and the plans listed in this review may not always be available. We select plans to display based on the price offerings, product mix, and what other retailers are offering.
Additional Details About Reliant Energy Plans
About Reliant Energy
At Reliant Energy, the customer comes first — both when it’s time to choose an energy plan and any moment after requiring assistance. The company, backed by NRG Energy, offers fixed-rate and variable month-to-month plans and always has a representative on call to address any questions or concerns.
Reliant has been a mainstay in Texas’s deregulated market since 2001 and now delivers power to over 1 million homes across the state. Behind their appeal, they aim to make electricity simple and straightforward, including through:
- An app designed to help customers track their energy usage and identify ways to reduce what they consume each month.
- Award-winning customer support every step of the way, from when you sign up and choose a plan to calling about an issue down the line.
- Access to a representative over the phone and through online chat.
- Competitive prices extended to homeowners, apartment dwellers and businesses.
- Plans that allow EV users to charge their vehicles at home for less.
You can learn more in our Reliant Energy company profile.
Retired Reliant Energy Electricity Plans. Reliant Energy has offered many plans in the past that are no longer available. These include Reliant Keep Your Cash Nights & Weekends and Reliant Truly Free Flex Days. Your best alternative plans are a choice of Reliant Truly Free Nights, Reliant Truly Free Weekends or Reliant Flextra Credits.
Reliant Energy Plans for Seniors. Reliant Energy does not offer any special plans for senior citizens. If you are over 64, consider Champion Energy Champ Silver plan. This plan has a discount vs. their standard offer, plus a special priority customer service phone line.
The fine print on Reliant Energy Flextra Credits: Monthly bill credits must be utilized in a separate billing period during your term. Customers may apply credits through their online account, via the Reliant app, or by contacting Reliant’s customer care team. Only one credit can be applied to any outstanding bill amount. Customers on AutoPay must redeem a bill credit up to 24 hours before the bill due date. Credits may not be combined in any individual month. Any unredeemed bill credits will automatically be applied during the last available bills of a customer’s term. Unused bill credits will not transfer if you switch away from the Flextra Credits plan and are not redeemable for cash.
Why you can trust our reviews: The ElectricityPlans team has over 30 years of combined experience in the Texas electricity industry. One of our team members worked at a retail electricity provider developing electricity plans. We understand the math behind these plans and the answer to “do free electricity plans really save you money?”
