It seems that most Texas electric companies are now offering time-of-use plans that offer different electricity rates depending on when you use your electricity. The concept was first popularized in Texas by TXU Energy with their Free Nights plan. TXU has since offered several variations on the theme, including their most recent TXU Free Pass plan which offers free electricity on the 7 days each month when your power usage is greatest. Gexa Energy is now advertising their own version of a free electricity plan with the Gexa Energy 3 Day Weekend Plan. So how does this plan compare to the competition?
How does the Gexa 3-Day Weekend plan work?
Compared to other similar plans, the Free 3-Day Weekends plan is simple. All of your electricity usage for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of every week is free. This means that there is no energy charge from Gexa or pass through fees from your distribution utility (Oncor in Dallas or Centerpoint in Houston) for weekend usage. Technically, the free period runs from 12:00 a.m. Friday to 12:00 a.m. Sunday
What is the electricity rate on the Gexa 3 Day Weekend plan?
As with any such plan, the electricity rate for the non-free portion of the plan must be high enough to still make the plan profitable for the electric company. Otherwise, they wouldn’t sell the plan. If you live in Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington or anywhere in the Oncor delivery area, you will be paying an energy charge of 16.6¢ per kWh on Monday – Thursday. In addition to this, you will pay pass-through charges from the utility company that delivers the power in your area (Oncor). This will add another 3.135¢ per kWh, bringing your total electricity rate up to 19.7¢ per kWh during these periods. You will also be charged a monthly fee of $9.95 from Gexa and $3.42 from Oncor.
Gexa advertises an average rate of 12.6¢ per kWh for 1,000kWh of electricity. This assumes that 43% of your energy usage occurs Friday-Sunday.
Note: The electricity rates mentioned above are for the Dallas/Fort Worth Area as of 4/14/2019. Enter your zip code above to see all of the current rates for Gexa and other electric companies for your area.
Is the Gexa 3 Day Weekend Plan a good deal?
This very much depends on how you use your electricity and if you are willing to shift your activities to make the best use of the free electricity periods. The 12.6¢ per kWh for 1,000kWh is more expensive than most other plans currently available from Gexa and other electricity providers. If you are up for the challenge, however, you can try to cram as much of your electricity usage as possible into the weekend period. You can do your laundry on the weekends but, with summer approaching in Texas, air conditioning will be the main driver of your electricity bill. If you are mostly away from home during the week, you could set your thermostat higher when you are away from home.
How does the Gexa 3 Day Weekend Plan Compare to TXU’s Free Pass Plan?
The two plans are pretty similar. The electricity rate during the non-free periods are almost identical. However, the Gexa plan offers 12 to 13 free days of electricity per month compared to the 7 free days offered in the TXU Free Pass Plan. Under the TXU plan, the free days are guaranteed to be your highest usage days. But these are likely to be weekend days anyway. The advertised average electricity rates at 1000 kWhs are cheaper for the Gexa 3 Day Weekend Plan than the TXU’s Free Pass 12 Plan.
What else do I need to know about the Gexa 3-Day Weekend Plan?
- The plan comes with a 12 month contract
- The cancelation fee for the plan is $150
- Gexa offers a 60 day guarantee. If you are not happy with the plan, Gexa will switch you to another one of their plans and waive the cancelation fee.