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TXU Ultimate Summer Pass 12 – What You Need To Know

The Ultimate Summer Pass 12 is TXU’s latest Time-of-Use (TOU) plan. TXU has a long history of popular TOU plans. It’s been almost a decade since they released the TXU Free Nights plan which later became the Free Nights and Solar Days plan. Since then, many electricity providers have offered similar plans.

The Ultimate Summer Pass 12 plan includes two different time-of-use elements.

50% off electricity during the summer

You will receive a 50% discount from the TXU energy charge during the summer months. This plan defines the summer months as being between June 1^st and September 30^th. Note that this discount applies only to the Energy Charge portion of your bill. It does not apply to the TDU charges that TXU collects on behalf of your local delivery utility. If you live in the Dallas or Fort Worth area this is a fee that goes to Oncor. Currently this rate is 3.89¢/kWh.

Free Hottest Days

In addition to the 50% discount during summer months, you will pay an Energy Charge of 0¢/KWh on the three hottest days each month from June to September . This is not exactly free electricity because the TDU pass thru charges still apply.

TXU will use designated local weather stations to determine which days near you are the hottest. If there is a tie, your highest usage days among those hottest days will used for your free days.

What else you need to know about the TXU Ultimate Summer Pass 12 Plan

Your bill will consist of 3 elements.

Energy charge – This represents the biggest part of your electric bill and is the portion of the bill that is eligible for the 50% off and free days. The Energy Charge is based on the TDU area you live in. See the table below for Energy Charges by area. These rates are current as of the rollout of the plan. But electricity rates in Texas change often. So always review current rates and the current electricity facts label (EFL) before you enroll in this or any plan.

TDU	Energy Charge
Centerpoint	16.1¢/kWh
Oncor	14.3¢/kWh
AEP North	14.4¢/kWh
AEP South	14.4¢/kWh

Base Charge – This is a flat $9.95 monthly charge regardless of how much power you use.

TDU delivery charges – Any plan from any electric company in Texas has TDU charges included. Sometimes they are bundled with the energy charge. But usually, they are broken out separately.

So what is the electricity rate on the TXU Ultimate Summer Pass 12 plan?

For the rollout, TXU is advertising a rate of 16.9¢/kWh for 1000 kWh of usage in the Oncor (DFW) area. When you add the per kWh charges together you get a total of 20.8¢/kWh for your non-summer days.

During the summer months, this rate drops to 11.05¢/Kwh. On the three hottest days the rate is equal to the TDU charge of 3.89¢/kWh

TXU has done the math to arrive at an average rate of 16.9¢/kWh over the length of your contract.

Cancellation Fee

The plan has a cancelation fee of $150.00 if you leave before the 12 month term.

Vistra, The Parent Company of TXU Reports 2021 Financial Results

Vistra’s earnings report for 2021 confirms what was already known. 2020 was a difficult year for the integrated energy company like it was for virtually any electricity company with exposure to the Texas market. On the back of the heavy financial toll taken from Winter Storm Uri, the company reported a loss of $1.2 Billion.

Vistra owns several Retail Electricity Providers in Texas including TXU and TriEagle as well as Value Based Brands which operates 4Change Energy, Express Energy and Veteran Energy.

The company also owns many power producing resources within Texas. They have readied three new production facilities to go online before the summer. These include:

Brightside Solar Facility in Live Oak County
Emerald Grove Solar Facility in Crane County near Midland, TX
DeCordova Energy Storage Facility in Hood County near Granbury, TX

Together these facilities will account for over 400 MW of production when they come online. Additionally, the company announced the acquisition of the Angus solar development project in Bosque County. This is a part of their Vistra Zero portfolio.

The Company highlighted their ESG accomplishments including publishing of their Green Finance Framework, an initiative to issue green financial instruments. They also donated $5 million towards financial relief for people effected by Winter Storm Uri.

TXU Lowers Rate For Electricity Plans in Katy, TX

Rates for some TXU electricity plans have gone down in Katy and other cities within the Centerpoint delivery area. For the Clear Deal 12 plan, the average electricity rate for a home that uses 1000 kWH has dropped from 13.5¢ per kWh to 12.9¢.

The rate drop is the result of an adjustment to the Centerpoint delivery fee schedule for Katy. As of March 1^st 2022 the pass through delivery fee has dropped from 4.6397¢ per KWH to 3.38523¢ per KWH.

At the same time, TXU raised the plan’s energy charge from 10.4¢ per kWh for 0-1200 kWh to 10.6¢ per kWh. The net result is a drop of .6¢/kWh.

All of the state’s distribution utilities adjusted their fees on March 1^st. This typically happens twice per year.

Other TXU plans such as the TXU Energy Free Nights & Solar Days plan saw their effective rates stay the same as TXU raised the energy charges to offset the drop in the TDU fee.

Read here for more information about electric company energy charges.

Read here for more information about TDU passthrough delivery fees.

What is the Cheapest TXU Electricity Plan

TXU Electricity Rates

Let’s look at some of the electricity plans available from TXU Energy and see which plan might be the best for your specific circumstances.

There are 3 basic questions you need to ask yourself before you select an electricity plan:

How much electricity do I use
Am I willing to adjust my habits around when I use my electricity
Is renewable energy an important consideration for me in choosing my next electricity plan

Best TXU Energy Plan for an Apartment

If you live in an apartment you probably don’t use a ton of electricity. A good estimate for how much electricity the average apartment in Texas uses each much is around 500 kWh per month. With that in mind, you need to look at the average rate for TXU electricity plans at the 500 kWh usage level.

Select 500kWh home size — **Vaultelectricty.com allows you to select your home size to compare rates**

Using the Vaultelectricity.com electricity rate comparison tool, select Apartment from the Home Size drop down box. For our purposes today, we will look at electricity rates in the Houston area. It is important, however, that you enter your own zip code in the search box to find the best rates on TXU plans in your area.

We see that the Clear Deal 12 is the cheapest electricity plan listed by TXU in Houston. Again, the rate listed in the image below is probably not current depending on when you are reading this. Make sure that you do a fresh search for the most current rates.

Cheapest TXU Energy Plan for 500kWh usage level

The Clear Deal 12 plan includes a bill credit that kicks in when your usage in a billing cycle hits 800 kWhs. So, if you use a little more electricity than the average apartment, you will have a cheaper rate on your bill once you go over 800 kWh.

Electricity Facts Label for TXU Clear Deal 12 Plan — **Check our current listings for the up to date EFL and rates**

Notice on the Electricity Fact Label associated with the plan above , that the base energy charge goes up when your usage exceeds 1200 kWh. This is more proof that you must pay attention to how much electricity you use when selecting an energy plan.

Best TXU Plan if you live in a Home

To find the best electricity rates for a home, select either the Large Home (2000 kWh per month) or Small Home (1000 kWh per month) options from the Home size dropdown. Most electricity providers in Texas tailor specific electric plans to meet the needs of either small, medium, or large consumers of residential electricity.

In the case of TXU, the Clear Deal 12 plan also comes up as the cheapest option for large and small homes. Although, the rate at 1000 kWh is cheaper than the average rate at 2000 kWh. This is because, as mentioned before, the Clear Deal 12 plan is really targeted at the 800 – 1200 kWh per month usage range.

Shift You Habits and Save on Electricity

TXU energy has a couple of plans aimed at consumers who are willing to adjust when they use their power in order to reduce their electric bills. These plans fall into the broad category of Time of Use plans. Whether or not you can save on these plans is highly dependent on how you choose to use your power.

We have a more complete description of the TXU Free Nights and Solar Days plan here. But, in brief, the plan offers free electricity at night and relies on solar energy for your daytime power. Don’t worry. This doesn’t mean you have to put solar panels on your roof. TXU is buying solar generated electricity from the grid.

You have to make sure that, if you choose this plan, you are able to use a lot of your electricity during the free nighttime period. The electricity rate for day time usage is much higher than the Clear Deal 12 plan.

If you would prefer to cram as much of your power use as possible into specific days of the month, rather than at night time, you may prefer the Season Pass 12 plan from TXU. This plan looks at the 7 highest usage days on your monthly bill and removes that cost from your bill.

More About TXU Energy

Texas residents who are looking to save on their electricity bill might be considering changing their power plan. TXU energy creates plans for individual homes and businesses in Texas, so it can provide competitive rates for you depending on what you need. When you shop for electricity plans with TXU, they have plans that are exclusive to your usage habits. TXU Energy is one of the largest and oldest electric companies in Texas. In certain parts of the state such as the Dallas/Fort Worth area, it is easily one of the most recognizable brands.

What is the Cheapest Gexa Energy Electricity Plan?

There are four different Gexa Energy plans that each make sense for different home sizes.

Best Gexa Energy plan for a small home – Gexa Saver Deluxe 12

The Gexa Saver Deluxe 12 plan is the best deal for homes that use around 1000 kWh of electricity per month. The average electricity rate for this plan is 8.2¢ per kWh. This plan is cheapest at exactly the 1000 kWh level.

Cheapest Gexa Energy Plan for small homes

Note: All rates discussed in this review are current as of the time of writing. They apply to the Centerpoint delivery area which includes Houston and surrounding areas. Texas electricity rates change daily. To see today’s rates for Gexa and other electric companies near you enter your zip code above.

The Gexa Saver Deluxe 12 plan is a “bill credit” plan. Bill credit plans offer credits on your energy bill of various amounts depending on how much power you use. This allows electricity providers to target plans to specific sized customers. In the case of the Gexa Saver Deluxe 12 plan, there is a credit of $100 that applies once you surpass 1000 kWh of electricity for a billing cycle.

Electricity Facts Label for Gexa Saver Deluxe 12 Plan — ** Enter zip code above for current rates

It is important to note that the credit disappears at the 2000 kWh level. This makes the plan the best Gexa plan for those who use slightly over 1000 kWh. But it isn’t ideal for larger homes. The plan comes with an energy charge of 13.17¢ per kWh plus a TDU Delivery Charge of 4.6397¢. Added together that comes to 17.8¢.

The $100 bill credit is what allows the average rate to drop to 8.2¢ at exactly 1000 kWh. As soon has your usage hits 2000 kWh the bill credit disappears causing your average rate to jump. That means this plan isn’t the best one Gexa offers for larger homes.

Best Gexa Energy Plan for larger homes – Gexa Superb Saver 12

The best Gexa plan for larger homes is a similar plan with different threshold levels for the bill credits. It is designed to benefit those who use more than 1500 kWh per billing cycle but less than 2500 kWh.

The Gexa Superb Saver 12 plan has the following structure. (Check our electricity rate listings for up to date pricing.)

$50 bill credit for usage levels between 1500 kWh and 1999 kWh
$100 bill credit for usage levels between 2000 kWh and 2500 kWh
No bill credit below 1500 kWh or above 2000 kWh
The energy charge is 9.05¢ (plus the standard TDU delivery charge of 4.6397¢)
There is a fixed monthly fee of $35 per month (plus the standard fixed TDU delivery charge of $4.39)

Electricity Facts Label for Gexa Superb Saver 12 Plan

As you can see, this plan is more complicated than the first plan. There are a lot of components to the pricing but the end result is an average electricity rate of 10.7¢ at 2000 kWh. This makes the Gexa Superb Saver 12 the lowest rate Gexa plan for larger homes as long as they don’t use more than 2500 kWh.

Best Gexa Energy Plan for 3000 kWh and above – Gexa Energy Saver 36 with Free Emerson Sensi Touch smart thermostats

The Gexa Energy Saver 36 plan is an option for customers who live in larger homes who use a lot of electricity. Gexa doesn’t publish average electricity rates for 3000 kWh but a little math tells us that the this plan is Gexa’s best deal for people who use 3000 kWh and above.

Electricity Facts Label for Gexa Energy Saver 36 Plan

This plan doesn’t come with any usage credits. This means there are no pricing cliffs or sudden price spikes depending on where your usage falls in a given month. The plan has the lowest energy charge of all the Gexa plans. Currently it is 8.86¢ per kWh (plus TDU charges). The result is a plan whose pricing remains consistent.

Customers who enroll in this 36 month plan receive up to 2 smart thermostats with installation included. This is a $550 value according to Gexa. Smart thermostats provide the added benefit of making your homes energy usage more efficient. This results in lower overall utility bills.

Best Gexa Energy Plan for an apartment – Gexa Saver Value 12

The Gexa Saver Value 12 plan is the ideal Gexa plan for people who live in apartments or people who use between 500 kWh and 1000 kWh. The energy charge is high compared to some of the other Gexa plans. But the bill credits are targeted to benefit those who use electricity. There is a $35 credit between 500-1000kWh and a $50 credit between 1000-1500 kWh.

Electricity Facts Label for Gexa Saver Value 12 Plan

Map of Electrical Providers in Texas

If you’re in a deregulated energy market in Texas, you can choose REPs (Retail Energy Providers). The REP is the company that sells electricity to consumers, and it’s also the name that appears on the bill. Some people confuse the REP with the TDU. The terms Retail Energy Providers, REP, and electric companies are often used interchangeably in Texas. However, they’re different from the TDU (Transmission Distribution Utility). TDUs deliver power to everyone within a given region. It’s the TDU that maintains the power lines and responds to outages.

There are seven regions in Texas – the Panhandle, North Texas, East Texas, Central Texas, West Texas, South Texas and the Upper Gulf Coast. Below are some options of retail electrical providers’ plans by region.

North Texas

6.8 million people live in the Dallas/Ft. Worth and Arlington metro area, with 7.1 million in the North Texas region. The population continues to grow. In fact, up to 7.8 million people are predicted to call the North Texas region home by 2020. The TDU for most of North Texas is Oncor, with the TNMP serving other parts. Residents and businesses can choose between a broad range of plans and providers. If you’re new to the area and have not established any credit, Payless Power offers pre-paid electricity plans, and everyone is approved. TXU is one of the best-known REPs in the area, offering a variety of plans including free nights and 100% renewable energy options. Don’t worry about coming up with a deposit when you choose the right plan from First Choice Power.

East Texas

The region of East Texas represents 8% of Texas’ total population. Beaumont and Tyler are the two most populous cities in this region, and the residents in this region can choose an electrical provider. Oncor is the TDU serving most of East Texas, and the TNMP serves the rest. Residents can sign up for a free 3-day weekend electricity plan from Gexa or find a plan from Cirro Energy offering auto-pay options. If you’re new to the area, consider a plan from Payless Power, where everyone is approved, and you can have same day activation.

Central Texas

Residential and commercial customers in Central Texas cities like Killeen can choose electricity providers. The TDUs that serves the Central Texas area is the TNMP and Oncor. There are a variety of great electricity plans in this area. Businesses can find no term contract plans from Cirro Energy. If you want to make the switch to green energy, check out 100% renewable energy plans from TriEagle. Lock in a low green energy plan with a fixed rate from Direct Energy. With proper usage management, you can receive bill credits from plans offered by 4Change Energy.

Upper Gulf Coast

The region known as the upper gulf coast is where you’ll find Houston, the largest city in Texas. Centerpoint is the TDU for the Houston area. Discover great plans for larger homes to save you money, such as Eco Saver plans from 4Change Energy. If you’ve just moved to the Houston area and have yet to establish credit, consider a no credit check, no deposit plan from Payless Power. If you work from home, you’ll want to look into plans with free mornings and nights from Gexa. When you’re ready to go green, you can make the switch to Green Mountain Energy or go with the Houston-based Champion Energy, among others.

South Texas

The South Texas region has seen a 7-percent increase in population since 2010. The cities of San Antonio and Corpus Christi reside in this region. AEP Central is the TDU for South Texas. San Antonio is exempt from deregulation, but you can find cheap electricity rates and plans in Corpus Christi and other areas in this region. Lock in a great rate with a 24-month fixed electricity plan from First Choice Power. If you want to switch to a renewable energy plan, TriEagle features 100% renewable energy options, and TXU Energy offers green energy plans with free nights. Worried about bad credit? Payless Power provides no credit check electricity.

West Texas

You can find deregulated electricity providers in West Texas cities like Abilene. Oncor, AEP, North and TNMP are the TDUs that serve this region. 4Change Energy offers generous save plans, which are great for larger homes. If you’re planning to move to another place, Direct Energy and TXU Energy offer convenient month-to-month plans, and you can find plans by First Choice Power with no contract required. Gexa Energy wants you to be happy with their services, so they offer a 60-day happiness guarantee.

Panhandle

The Texas panhandle accounts for 1.7% of the state’s population. Most of the panhandle region of Texas has not adopted power to choose electricity.

Vault Electricity makes it easy to compare the best electricity companies in Texas. Find an electricity plan in your region that is best suited to your needs.

Cooperatives

Many area in Texas aren’t open to electric choice. These areas are served by one of the dozens of electric co-ops that serve mainly the rural areas of Texas. See below for a map showing the service areas of the cooperatives.

Transmission & Distribution Utilities (TDU) Map

TDUs in Texas a responsible for maintaining the infrastructure in a particular region and delivering power to electricity consumers. Click here for more information on TDUs.

What You Need to Know About the Flash Bundled 12 Plan from Express Energy

What electric company offers the Flash Bundled Plan?

The Flash Bundled 12 plan is offered by Express Energy; one of the newer electricity providers in Texas. The plan is among the many popular “bill credit” plans offered by many electric companies. The plans are called bill credit plans because they offer credits on your bill once your usage meets a certain threshold number within the billing cycle. In this case, the Flash Bundled 12 plan will give you a $100 bill credit when your usage hits 1000 kWh.

The “Bundled” in the name refers to the fact that all pass-through charges from the TDU are included in the Energy Charge for the plan. The TDU is the infrastructure utility that maintains the wires in your area and actually delivers power to your home. The TDU pass-throughs are the same for any electric company you choose. It’s up to each individual company to either break these charges out separately in your billing or to simply bundle them into one blended rate for a particular plan. In the Houston area, your TDU is CenterPoint energy.

What is the lowest price point of this electricity plan?

This plan is designed to have its lowest average electricity rate at exactly 1000 kWh of usage. As of this writing, that rate is 8.1 cents per kWh if you live in the Houston area. This chart illustrates the average electricity rate for the Flash Bundled plan at each usage level.

It’s important to note that rates change often and depending on when you are reading this the rates will likely be different than what we’ve shown here. Always check for the most up to date electricity rates in your area by using our real time Texas electricity rate search tool.

Price per kWh based on usage — This chart illustrates what the actual price per kWh is for this plan based on the amount of electricity used per billing period.

What size home is this plan designed for?

Because this plan targets the 1000 kWh usage level, this plan would be best for homes that consistently use more than 1000 kWh of electricity. If you find that you consistently use more than 2000 kWh, then you should look for a plan that’s more targeted to larger homes. Once you exceed 1500 kWh other plans may be a better alternative for you.

Will I save money with this plan?

This review was written in December 2021. At this point in time, the Flash Bundled 12 plan is the cheapest plan for the 1000 kWh usage level across much of Texas. Rates in general are very high in Texas right now. They are expected to drop after the beginning of the year. Depending on how much electricity you use each month, this plan could be the cheapest new plan currently available. However, to know if this is a cheaper rate than you are currently paying you will have to refer to your current electricity bill.

What are the cancelation fees for this plan?

Like all plans for Express Energy, the cancellation fee for this plan is $20 for each month that remains on your contract. For example, if you cancelled with 10 months remaining in your contract, your cancelation fee would be $200. If you cancelled with only one month remaining you would pay $20.

How do I enroll in this plan?

To compare this plan with other plans available in your area, enter your zip code in the search box above. From there you can enroll online or call the phone number provided to enroll online.

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