BillSmart™ by ElectricityPlans.com
Plan Score Gives You Instant Knowledge of Each Plan
BillSmart Plan Score tells you at a glance how predictable your bill will be.
The advertised rate isn’t always what you’ll actually pay. The BillSmart™ Plan Score tells you at a glance how predictable your electricity bill will be, before you sign up.
The BillSmart Plan Score 5-Point Scale at a Glance
Real-world example: A bill credit plan advertises 7.4¢/kWh with a $125 bill credit when your usage is 1000 kWh or more. Use 999 kWh and your effective rate is 19.99¢/kWh. Use 1500 kWh and your effective rate is 11.5¢/kWh. The BillSmart Plan Score flags this plan type as a “1-Least Predictable” so you’ll know to dig in deeper to the plan details.
You’ll find the BillSmart Plan Score in the Plan Details. You can also search by Plan Score levels under filters, to only look at certain levels of predictability.
What Does the Plan Score Measure?
The Plan Score measures one thing: how predictable your bill will be, regardless of how much you use. Not price. Not overall quality. Just predictability. Because that’s the part that’s hardest to see with Texas’ 500/1000/2000 kWh pricing display.
- Plan-type based, not per-plan. The score is assigned by plan structure, not by individual plan. All fixed-rate plans with no monthly fees score a 5. All bill credit plans score a 1. This keeps the score transparent and consistent, not a black box calculation.
- 1–5 categorical scale. We use 5 tiers, not 10 or 100. There are genuinely 5 distinct plan predictability tiers in the Texas market. A score of 9.2 vs. a score of 8.9? What’s that even mean?
- Shown for every plan. The score appears in the Plan Details for every plan. You can even choose the Plan Score in Filters to quickly focus on the level of predictability you want.
- Independent of price. A low-stability plan can still be a great deal for the right household. It all depends on your electricity usage each month. Plan details show the BillSmart Plan Score, plus the BillSmart Calculator and CostCurve™ to dig into the details specific to your usage.
Understanding What the Plan Score Means
Here’s the breakdown on what each BillSmart Plan Score means.
5 — Most Predictable Bills · Fixed Rate Without Monthly Fee or Minimum Use Fee
A fixed-rate plan with no monthly fee is the most predictable electricity plan available in Texas. Your rate per kWh is locked for the duration of your plan length.
The only reason your average price per kWh may vary is the monthly fee that your utility charges. That monthly fee divided by a small amount of usage will drive your average price up. Divided by a larger amount of usage? You’ll see just a small impact on your effective rate.
Good for: Almost any household that wants one less thing to think about. We always recommend basic fixed rate plans as the best option for most consumers.
4 — Predictable Bills · Fixed Rate With Monthly Fee or Minimum Use Fee
Fixed-rate plans with a monthly base fee or a minimum usage fee are still highly predictable but the fee adds some variability to the average price, beyond what you see in the advertised rate.
A $4.95 monthly fee is nearly invisible for a high-usage home but will add real money to the average price for a small apartment. A $9.95 minimum use fee is a penalty for using less. It will cost you if you don’t hit the threshold.
Watch for: Minimum use fees if you have a small home or use less than 1000 kWh per month. Always check the Electricity Facts Label (EFL) and our Plan Details for the full fee structure.
3 — Conditions Apply
As we reviewed the plan types, it became clear that some bill credit and free electricity plans deserved more consideration. We call these conditions apply. Their structure makes them pretty decent, as long as you check the requirements and make sure they fit your home.
The free electricity picks that get a Plan Score of 3 have an average rate that’s similar to that company’s fixed rate plan. That means you don’t have to change your habits much to benefit, though you’ll save more if you do.
The bill credit picks give a decent price for a narrow range of usage. Or, they have an average rate that’s similar to what you’ll pay for that company’s fixed rate.
2 — Less Predictable · Free Electricity or Time of Use Discount
Plans in this tier require you to actively manage your usage to get the rate you signed up for. The savings are real, but underlying pricing is elevated to cover the free period. And consumers overestimate how much they can change when they use power.
Free electricity plans: These offer free or very cheap electricity during specific hours but charge a significantly higher-than-average rate at other times. If you don’t shift your usage, you’ll pay more than the advertised rate.
Time of use discount plans: These offer discounted electricity during specific windows while charging a premium rate at peak times. If you don’t focus on making the most of the discounted time, you’re effective rate will be higher
Right for: EV owners who charge overnight, weekend homes, singles that travel during the week, households with flexible schedules, and anyone who can run major appliances during off-peak windows.
1 — Least Predictable · Bill Credit Plans or Tiered Rate Plans
These plan types share one common thing: your effective rate per kWh changes dramatically based on whether you land inside a narrow usage band. Miss the target even by a little and you can pay significantly more than the advertised rate.
Bill credit plans: These plans offer a monthly credit (e.g., $125 off your bill) that only applies if you use electricity at or above a certain level. These plans are structured around a usage assumption. If your usage doesn’t match it, the math falls apart.
Tiered rate plans: These charge different rates at different usage levels. The rate you see advertised is never the rate you’ll pay across all of your usage. Your actual blended rate depends entirely on how much you use.
Bottom line: These plans can work, but only if your usage is consistent and you know what you use. Once you see the Plan Score, check the BillSmart Calculator and CostCurve to see what you’ll pay at every usage level. Only proceed if your bill is consistently in the sweet spot for pricing.
Compare Electricity Plans by Plan Score
BillSmart Plan Score FAQs
We’ve been doing this for a long time, with 30+ combined years in the Texas electricity industry, refinements to the PlanScan™ algorithm since 2017, and thousands of plans evaluated. The Plan Score gives a simple representation of what we’ve said since the start: stick with simple plans that are predictable.
Not necessarily. A 1 or 2 score means the plan is less predictable, not that it’s a bad deal for everyone. If you have consistent usage patterns each month, you could save. The score helps you understand the risk before you sign up, not tell you what to choose. Our other tools, like BillSmart Low Bill Finder, BillSmart Calculator and CostCurve give you a full understanding of each plan.
Because plan type structure is the primary driver of rate predictability in Texas. A bill credit plan is inherently unpredictable. A fixed rate plan is inherently predictable. These simple categories are more honest to apply than getting into rating prices, providers or other factors.
No. A 100% renewable fixed-rate plan with no monthly fee scores a 5, the same as a non-renewable equivalent. The Plan Score measures bill predictability only, not renewal energy attributes. Our plan listings separately indicate renewable content so you can factor that in on your own terms.
The scoring methodology is reviewed annually. Because the score is based on plan type and no other factor, plans maintain their score the entire time they’re listed on our site.