SmartEnergy Just Launched a $200 Bill Credit Plan on September 3. Here Is How Bill Credit Plans Actually Work in Texas (And When You Lose the Credit)

SmartEnergy Holdings LLC launched the SmartGreen 9 $200 Bill Credit plan on September 3, 2026. The plan name reads like a monthly bill credit, but the Electricity Facts Label tells a different story. The $200 is a promo credit split into two $100 payments across a 9-month contract, and four separate conditions can wipe it out before you ever see the second payment.

That mismatch between plan marketing and plan mechanics is why bill credit electricity plans confuse Texas households every year. This guide is written for Texas households and small businesses shopping electricity plans in the deregulated ERCOT market. It walks through the SmartEnergy launch, how traditional Texas bill credit plans actually work at the 500 kWh, 1,000 kWh, and 2,000 kWh usage bands the state requires providers to disclose, the specific ways you can lose the credit, and how to read the Electricity Facts Label before you sign anything.

Key Takeaways

• SmartEnergy's $200 credit is a promo credit ($100 posted after a phone or email claim, $100 after 6 months), not a monthly usage-based bill credit.
• Bill credit plans made up 10.8% of tracked Texas retail electricity plans in the week of September 7, 2026, according to TrueBill Energy, up from 3.1% in May 2026.
• 13% of the 120 Texas plans surveyed in the September 2026 ChooseMyPower market report had a bill credit cliff that made a 500 kWh month cost at least $25 more than a 1,000 kWh month.
• Modeled over 12 months of realistic Texas usage (average 1,200 kWh per month), SmartGreen 9 costs roughly $1,539 after the full $200 promo credit is claimed, versus $1,740 if the credit is forfeited, a $200 swing on identical usage.
• Four conditions forfeit a bill credit: a past-due account balance, early termination, a plan change during the term, or missing the required claim step.
• The Public Utility Commission of Texas requires every Electricity Facts Label to display the total average price at 500, 1,000, and 2,000 kWh per month under 16 TAC section 25.475(g)(2)(C)(i). Those three numbers reveal the credit cliff before you sign.

What did SmartEnergy launch on September 3, 2026?

SmartEnergy launched SmartGreen 9 $200 Bill Credit, a 9-month, 100% renewable, fixed-rate plan sold by SmartEnergy Holdings LLC (doing business as SmartEnergy), a retail electric provider certified under PUCT REP number 10253. The Oncor Electricity Facts Label is dated September 1, 2026 and identifies the plan as EFL number 20260901_F_ONC_SG9-1MNTHBC_M2001. SmartEnergy sells the SmartGreen 9 plan family across every major Texas transmission and distribution utility area: Oncor, CenterPoint Energy, AEP Texas Central, AEP Texas North, and TNMP.

The Oncor version of SmartGreen 9 shows the following average prices on its EFL:

The SmartEnergy energy charge is 5.3 cents per kWh, with a $4.95 base charge per billing cycle. Oncor delivery adds $4.06 per billing cycle plus 6.0295 cents per kWh. Taxes, the PUC assessment, and any applicable governmental charges are additional.

The plan is listed as "No Min." on usage, so unlike a traditional Texas bill credit plan, it does not force you to hit 1,000 kWh in a month to receive anything. What it does have is a promo credit with strings attached.

How does the SmartEnergy $200 credit actually work?

The $200 is not a monthly credit. It is a two-payment signup incentive with four separate forfeiture conditions written into the EFL, and neither payment is automatic:

• $100 posts on your first bill after you contact SmartEnergy by phone or email to claim the credit.
• $100 posts after 6 months, once SmartEnergy receives your redemption form.
• If a credit balance is larger than your bill in a given month, it rolls forward to the next bill until it is consumed.
• Credits cannot be exchanged for cash or other value items.

The credit is lost if:

1. Your account is past due when you try to claim it.
2. You terminate service early (before the end of the 9-month term).
3. You switch to a different SmartEnergy plan before the credit is applied.
4. You never complete the phone, email, or form step to claim it.

Early termination also carries a fee: $20 for each month remaining in the initial term, in addition to any forfeited credit. Late payments trigger a 5% penalty on the past-due balance, and there is a $40 insufficient-funds fee. The price is fixed during the initial term except for changes caused by TDU charges, ERCOT or Texas Regional Entity administrative fees, or new regulatory charges. After 9 months, the plan rolls to a variable-price default renewable product.

What is a Texas bill credit plan in the first place?

A bill credit is a fixed dollar discount applied to your bill when your monthly usage meets a specific threshold, most commonly 1,000 kilowatt-hours. Graham Lumley, Growth Product Manager at BKV Energy, describes it this way in the company's learning center: "Bill credits are discounts on an electricity bill applied by a retail energy provider when your monthly kilowatt-hour usage meets a pre-specified threshold. For example, an electricity plan may offer a $100 bill credit when you use at least 1,000 kWh during a billing period. In this scenario, if you use less than 1,000 kWh, you do not receive the credit on your bill."

That threshold creates a cliff in your effective rate. Miss it and you pay a much higher price per kWh. Cross it and the plan looks cheap. The Public Utility Commission of Texas caught this behavior years ago and wrote it into the disclosure rules. Under 16 TAC section 25.475(g)(2)(C)(i), every residential Electricity Facts Label must show the total average electricity price, rounded to the nearest 0.1 cent per kWh, at 500, 1,000, and 2,000 kWh per month. That three-column table is not a suggestion. It is designed so shoppers can see the cliff before they enroll.

Here is a real Texas bill credit example that BKV Energy publishes to illustrate the pattern. The average prices on the EFL read:

Use exactly 1,000 kWh and the effective rate is 9.4 cents. Fall to 500 kWh and the effective rate more than doubles to 22.4 cents. Go to 2,000 kWh and the rate climbs back to 15.5 cents. The credit only fits one specific window.

The market data reflects how common the pattern is. According to TrueBill Energy (2026), bill credit plans were 10.8% of tracked Texas retail electricity plans in the week of September 7, 2026, up from 3.1% in May 2026, 4.6% in June, and 6.5% in July. According to the ChooseMyPower September 2026 market report, 13% of 120 listed Texas plans had a $25-plus bill credit cliff between 500 kWh and 1,000 kWh usage. In August 2026 the same report found the pattern in 14% of 126 listed plans, and the cheapest listed 1,000 kWh rate that month (5.6 cents per kWh) belonged to a bill credit plan.

Why do bill credit plans even exist in the Texas retail market?

Bill credit plans exist because ERCOT's wholesale market uses nodal Locational Marginal Pricing (LMP), and retail providers make procurement bets on when their customers will and will not consume. ERCOT sets the wholesale price in 15-minute settlement intervals through Day-Ahead and Real-Time market Settlement Point Prices. A retail electric provider buys wholesale power at those prices and sells you a retail plan on top of it. When the provider expects the average customer will comfortably clear the credit threshold, the credit is a cheap acquisition tool. When the customer misses the threshold, the provider keeps the higher energy charge and the credit never posts.

That structural asymmetry is why consumer advocates dislike the design. Enri Zhulati, Consumer Advocate at ElectricRates.org, has written that "these credits can make advertised rates misleading if your actual usage differs" from the credit's target window. The plan advertises a rate that only materializes at one usage volume. The bill you receive depends on where your real usage lands.

What does SmartGreen 9 actually cost across a full year?

Model the plan across a realistic Texas usage year and the credit is worth roughly $200 in real dollars, not the marketing headline savings. Using the SmartGreen 9 Oncor EFL numbers (5.3 cents per kWh energy charge, $4.95 base charge, and Oncor delivery of $4.06 per cycle plus 6.0295 cents per kWh), a household that averages 1,200 kWh per month (14,400 kWh per year, close to the ERCOT residential average) sees the following annual math:

The gap between best-case and worst-case is $200 on identical usage. That is exactly the value of the promo credit, and it maps directly to whether you complete the claim step, keep the account current, and finish the 9-month term. The plan does not become more or less expensive per kilowatt-hour based on usage in the way a traditional bill credit plan does, because SmartGreen 9 has no minimum-usage cliff. Instead, it hinges on the four forfeiture conditions.

For a Texas small business or a larger household running closer to 2,000 kWh per month, the underlying energy math shifts slightly in the plan's favor (11.8 cents per kWh at 2,000 kWh on the EFL versus 12.2 cents at 1,000 kWh), because the fixed charges spread across more kilowatt-hours. The forfeiture risk is the same.

The Credit Forfeiture Test: four questions to ask before you sign

Before you enroll in any Texas plan advertising a bill credit or a signup credit, walk through these four questions. If you cannot answer yes to all four, the credit is at risk.

1. Does your last 12 months of usage clear the threshold every month? Look at your actual bills. If summer months hit 2,200 kWh and shoulder months drop to 700 kWh, you will miss the credit in half the year on a traditional bill credit plan. The Texas summer swings are not friendly to plans that only pay out inside a narrow window.
2. Can you keep the account current for every billing cycle? If your account goes past due when the credit is scheduled to post, most Texas EFLs (including the SmartGreen 9 EFL) allow the provider to hold or forfeit the credit.
3. Are you certain you will not switch plans or providers during the term? Bill credits are almost always forfeited on early termination. Add the early termination fee (SmartGreen 9 charges $20 for each month remaining) to the lost credit and the exit cost climbs quickly.
4. Is the credit paid out on a schedule you can actually complete? Some plans require a phone call, an email, or a mailed form. Miss the step and the credit never posts, even if you meet every other condition.

Thad Warren, a Texas-based energy writer at EnergyBot, put the bigger point plainly in the company's analysis of Texas bill credit and free-nights plans: "Traditional plans generally result in lower annual costs compared to bill credit plans. The average consumer on a traditional plan saved significant amounts compared to those on bill credit plans."

How do you spot a bill credit plan on the Electricity Facts Label?

Compare the three average prices on the EFL first. Traditional fixed-rate plans usually show three prices within roughly 2 cents of each other at 500 kWh, 1,000 kWh, and 2,000 kWh. Bill credit plans show one very low number and two much higher numbers, or a low-middle-higher pattern that reveals a usage cliff.

Beyond the three prices, check the energy charge line separately from the credit. A high energy charge (10 to 14 cents per kWh) paired with a monthly bill credit tells you the plan needs your usage inside the credit window to look cheap. Then check the "Cancellation Fee" line and read the fine print on when the credit is applied and when it is forfeited.

If you want the complete walkthrough of every EFL line, the Ambit guide on how to read a Texas Electricity Facts Label breaks down the six numbers that actually predict what a plan will cost.

Are bill credit plans right for a Texas household?

For most Texas households, a simple fixed-rate plan is easier to budget and easier to compare. EnergyBot analyzed the actual costs paid by more than 500 Texas residents and found that customers on bill credit plans spent an average of $816 more per year on electricity compared to those on traditional plans, and that bill credit plans were about 34% more expensive per kWh on average once real usage was factored in.

There is a narrower case where a bill credit plan can pay off. If your last 12 months of usage cleared the threshold every single month, and you are confident that pattern will hold for the length of the contract, and you can complete every claim step on time, the math can work. For most households, and for most Texas small businesses whose monthly usage swings widely, a fixed-rate plan without a usage cliff is the more predictable choice.

Ambit Energy offers fixed-rate plans across every Texas TDU territory. If you want a plan without a bill credit cliff, the Ambit Energy plan lineup for 2026 compares the rate, term, and fees on every current option so you can pick one that matches your usage rather than working around a threshold.

What should you do if you already signed up for a bill credit plan?

Pull your last 12 months of bills first. Add up the months where you hit the required usage and count the months where you missed. If you missed more than a third of the year, the credit is unlikely to be net-positive over the contract, especially when the higher per-kWh energy charge is included in the math.

Many Texas retail electric providers offer a 30-day switch window during which you can move to a different plan without paying an early termination fee, but the rules vary by provider and are printed on the Terms of Service, not the EFL. Read the Terms of Service before you switch, and confirm any bill credit forfeiture rules in writing.

The Public Utility Commission of Texas Consumer Protection Division took $1,592,565 in refunds and credits from a Texas retail electric provider in Docket 56637 (October 25, 2024) for misleading fee practices, and the PUCT closed 1,849 consumer complaints in the second quarter of fiscal year 2025 alone. The complaint pathway is open at puc.texas.gov if a provider misapplies or forfeits a credit outside the EFL terms.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a Texas bill credit electricity plan work?
A bill credit is a fixed dollar discount applied to your electricity bill when your monthly usage meets a specific threshold, usually 1,000 kWh. If you use less than the threshold, you do not receive the credit and pay the plan's regular energy charge, which is often higher than a standard fixed-rate plan.

Is SmartEnergy's $200 bill credit paid every month?
No. The SmartGreen 9 EFL says the $200 is a promo credit split into two $100 payments over the 9-month contract: $100 after you contact SmartEnergy to claim it, and $100 after 6 months once your redemption form is received. It is not a $200 monthly credit.

What happens if I use less than 1,000 kWh on a bill credit plan?
On a traditional Texas bill credit plan, if your monthly usage falls below the required threshold, no credit is applied and your effective rate can climb sharply. BKV Energy's illustrative example shows a plan where 500 kWh months cost 22.4 cents per kWh versus 9.4 cents per kWh at 1,000 kWh.

Can I lose my bill credit even if I hit the usage threshold?
Yes. Bill credits are forfeited if your account is past due when the credit is scheduled to post, if you terminate service early, or if you switch to a different plan during the contract term. Some plans also require an active claim step (a phone call, email, or form) to release the credit.

How do I tell if a Texas plan is a bill credit plan before I sign?
Look at the three average prices on the Electricity Facts Label at 500, 1,000, and 2,000 kWh. If one number is much lower than the other two, the plan carries a bill credit or a usage cliff. If the three numbers are within roughly 2 cents of each other, it is a straight fixed-rate plan.

What are the Ambit alternatives to a bill credit plan?
Ambit Energy offers fixed-rate plans across every Texas transmission and distribution utility area, without a usage-cliff bill credit. A fixed-rate plan pays the same energy charge whether you use 500 kWh or 2,000 kWh in a month, which is easier to budget across the summer and winter swings that most Texas households experience.

Plan details and rates subject to change and vary by TDU service area. Enrollment is subject to credit approval. Always review the current Energy Facts Label available on your provider's website and the Terms of Service before enrolling. Rates cited above are as of September 2026.

A no-deposit light company in Texas is a retail electric provider (REP) that starts service without a refundable security deposit or a hard credit check. Texas gives you four legal doors into service, and which one fits depends on your credit, your age, your household situation, and how quickly you need the power on. This pillar walks all four, with the actual PUCT rules, the real rate ranges as of September 2026, and the trade-offs each door hides.

Key takeaways

• Texas offers four legal ways to skip a residential electricity deposit as of 2026: qualify on credit, use a Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) waiver under Rule 25.478, present a letter of credit or a letter of guarantee, or enroll in a prepaid pay-as-you-go plan under PUCT Rule 25.498.
• Standard postpaid deposits typically run $100 to $400 in Texas, per Electric Choice (data as of 2026), while a soft-check no-deposit plan usually runs 10 to 16 cents per kWh and a prepaid plan usually runs 12 to 20 cents per kWh as of September 2026.
• Under PUCT Substantive Rule 25.478, every REP has to treat two groups as having satisfactory credit, so it can't require a deposit from them: customers 65 or older who aren't currently delinquent on an electric account, and certified victims of family violence. Affiliated REPs and the provider of last resort also have to accept a good payment history and medical indigence.
• Prepaid service under PUCT Rule 25.498 opens with a connection balance of up to $75 and can activate the same business day on any home with a smart meter, of which ERCOT reports more than 8 million are deployed statewide.
• Payless Power, a widely cited no-deposit prepaid REP, was listed at 18.49 cents per kWh on a 6-month prepaid plan as of September 8, 2026, per TexasElectricityRatings, roughly 3 to 4 cents above the state average residential rate of 15.41 cents per kWh reported by the U.S. Energy Information Administration for Q2 2026.

What is a "light company" in Texas, and why do most of them ask for a deposit?

A "light company" in Texas is simply the everyday name for a retail electric provider, or REP, the company you buy your electricity from since Texas deregulated most of its market in 2002 under Senate Bill 7. It is not the utility that owns the poles and wires. That is your transmission and distribution utility, or TDU, and there are four large ones: Oncor in North Texas, CenterPoint Energy in the Houston area, AEP Texas across South and West Texas, and Texas-New Mexico Power in scattered pockets. Your light company handles billing, plan design, and enrollment. Your TDU handles the pole, the meter, and the wires to your house.

Deposits exist because REPs carry the credit risk on your unpaid usage. Under PUCT Substantive Rule 25.478, a REP may require a refundable deposit from a residential applicant who does not pass its credit screen, and all deposits together are capped at the greater of one-fifth of the estimated annual billing or the sum of the estimated billings for the next two months. In practice, Electric Choice puts typical Texas residential deposits at $100 to $400 as of 2026. A REP that holds your deposit has to pay interest on it at a rate at least equal to the one the PUCT sets each year. For calendar year 2027 the PUCT set that rate at 3.68 percent, down from 4.12 percent in 2026, per EnergyChoiceMatters' report of the commission's November 5, 2026 decision in Project 45319. The REP has to refund the deposit once you've paid 12 consecutive residential bills with no late payments. When you leave, it has to refund the deposit plus interest, minus anything you still owe, or move it to your new provider. And a REP can't require a deposit at all from an applicant who meets one of the rule's satisfactory-credit categories below.

Deposits are also a scale problem. Texas has more than 100 REPs competing for retail customers, and ERCOT reports that over 8 million advanced smart meters are now deployed and served through the Smart Meter Texas platform. Every one of those meters can be enrolled remotely, which is why the light company you sign up with can start service in hours instead of days, once your qualifying door is chosen.

Which Texas light companies offer no-deposit service in 2026?

No single provider owns the no-deposit category. The right way to shop is by door (below), not by brand, because the same REP often offers a credit-qualified plan, a prepaid plan, and a waiver-eligible plan on the same rate card. That said, here are the light companies most often flagged in 2026 SERP results and consumer guides for no-deposit availability:

• Payless Power. Prepaid pay-as-you-go, no credit check, minimum initial funding around $40. TexasElectricityRatings listed Payless Power at 18.49 cents per kWh for a 6-month plan and 18.59 cents per kWh for a 12-month plan as of September 8, 2026. SaveOnEnergy.com (2026) ranks it as its top no-deposit, no-credit-check light company.
• Acacia Energy. Prepaid, no contract, no credit check, no deposit. One of the longest-running prepaid-only REPs in Texas.
• 4Change Energy. Offers no-deposit options for qualifying credit and prepaid variants. Frequently cited alongside Gexa in aggregator round-ups.
• Gexa Energy. Runs periodic no-deposit fixed-rate promotions for customers who pass a soft check.
• Discount Power. Houston-based, prepaid pay-as-you-go plans with same-day connection on smart meters.
• Pronto Power. Focus on North Texas metros with prepaid no-credit-check plans.
• Reliant, TXU, Direct Energy, Constellation. Large legacy REPs. All can ask for a deposit if you don't clear credit, and like every REP, all have to accept the Rule 25.478 age 65 and family violence categories (Door 2 below).

Ambit Energy, our own plan family, runs a soft credit inquiry to decide whether a new Customer needs a deposit, per Ambit's deposit FAQ, and its Texas Terms of Service cap any deposit at the Rule 25.478 limit. If prepaid is genuinely the only door for you today, one of the prepaid specialists above is built for it.

How do you qualify for no-deposit electricity without a credit check? The Four Doors framework

We use a four-door framework because "no deposit" is not one product. It is four different qualifying paths, each governed by a different rule and each carrying a different cost. Pick the door your household actually fits, then choose a plan inside it.

1. Door 1: Credit soft check for customers who pass a light screen without a hard pull.
2. Door 2: PUCT Rule 25.478 waiver for customers who fit one of the rule's satisfactory-credit categories.
3. Door 3: Letter of credit or letter of guarantee for customers whose history is fine but is not visible on a bureau report.
4. Door 4: Prepaid pay-as-you-go under PUCT Rule 25.498, for customers who want no credit involvement at all.

The rest of this guide walks each door in order, with the actual rule text, the paperwork you need, and the effective rate the door tends to produce as of September 2026.

Door 1: Qualify on credit with a soft check

Most Texas REPs run a light credit screen when you request a fixed-rate postpaid plan. If your score clears their internal threshold, the deposit is waived and no hard inquiry hits your bureau file. Thresholds vary, but soft-check no-deposit plans in Texas typically land between 10 and 16 cents per kWh in 2026, in line with the market. ChooseMyPower reported that the cheapest 1,000-kWh plan in Texas fell to 5.6 cents per kWh on August 7, 2026, from 6.3 cents a month earlier, and the median rate across six utility territories fell from 16.8 cents to 16.0 cents per kWh over the same window.

Door 1 is the cheapest door by far. If a REP tells you it has to run credit but promises no hard pull, ask directly whether the inquiry is reported to Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion. A true soft check is not.

Door 2: PUCT Rule 25.478 deposit waivers

PUCT Substantive Rule 25.478 lists the ways a residential applicant can establish satisfactory credit, and so avoid a deposit, without a credit score. As of November 2026 the rule in force is the version effective May 13, 2018. Every REP in the ERCOT market has to honor the age 65 and family violence categories. Affiliated REPs (REPs affiliated with, or successors to, the electric utility certified to serve an area) and the provider of last resort also have to honor the payment-history and medical indigence categories, and any other REP may accept them as additional ways to show credit.

• Age 65 or older and not currently delinquent on any electric service account. Every REP has to honor this one. Photo ID with date of birth is usually enough. Randy Chapman, a retired legal-aid attorney and former executive director of the Texas Legal Services Center, told Public Health Watch on August 27, 2026, that people relied on the low bills the old System Benefit Fund produced and many were not prepared for the rate shock that followed. The age-65 waiver is one of the few tools that meaningfully protects that group.
• Good payment history with a prior electric provider. You were a customer of a REP or electric utility within the last two years, you aren't delinquent on that account, and you paid late no more than once in your last 12 consecutive months of service. With your authorization, the new REP can ask your prior REP for that history, and a letter from your prior provider (often called a letter of credit) shows the same record. Affiliated REPs and the provider of last resort have to accept it.
• Certified victim of family violence under Texas Family Code Section 71.004. The determination can come from a family violence center, treating medical personnel, law enforcement, a district or county attorney's office, the Office of the Attorney General, or a grantee of the Texas Equal Access to Justice Foundation, and you show it with the certification letter developed by the Texas Council on Family Violence. Every REP has to honor this one.
• Medically indigent. Your household income is at or below 150 percent of the poverty guidelines, as certified by a government entity or a government-funded energy assistance provider. And either a physician or another professional the rule lists certifies that you or your spouse can't perform three or more activities of daily living, or your monthly out-of-pocket medical costs top 20 percent of household gross income. You have to show this again every year. Affiliated REPs and the provider of last resort have to accept it.

Already a customer? The rule doesn't list an existing account as a credit category, but it does bar a REP from asking an existing customer for a new initial deposit unless that customer paid late more than once, or was disconnected for nonpayment, during the last 12 months of service.

Door 2 typically produces the same rate as Door 1. There is no waiver premium. A properly documented waiver moves you into the same postpaid rate class as a customer who cleared credit. The waiver rules are the primary way the PUCT protects customers who cannot clear a standard credit screen.

Door 3: Letter of credit or letter of guarantee

Door 3 is what Texans call the credit-invisible door. If you are new to the country, recently 18, or living with family and never held utilities in your own name, a soft check will not find you. Two paperwork options unlock service anyway.

• Letter of credit. A written statement from your prior electric provider confirming your payment record. Rule 25.478 counts electric service from the last two years with no more than one late payment in the last 12 months, the same payment-history category described in Door 2. Gas and water history isn't part of the rule, so ask a REP before you rely on it.
• Letter of guarantee. A written agreement in which someone else agrees to pay your unpaid balance if you default, up to the amount of the deposit the REP would otherwise require. The REP can require the guarantor to stay its customer with no past-due balance and no more than one late payment in 12 months. Affiliated REPs and the provider of last resort have to offer this option instead of a cash deposit, and a REP has to end the guarantee once you've paid 12 consecutive months without a disconnection for nonpayment and with no more than two delinquent payments.

Not every REP publicizes Door 3, so you may need to call and ask. It is the fastest door for a newcomer to Texas who has no U.S. credit file at all.

Door 4: Prepaid pay-as-you-go under PUCT Rule 25.498

PUCT Rule 25.498 governs prepaid electric service in Texas. It requires no credit check, no deposit, and no long-term contract. In return, you fund an account balance in advance, use kWh against that balance, and the REP disconnects service (with required notice) if the balance falls below a specified threshold.

The mechanics that matter:

• Initial connection balance. Up to $75 under Rule 25.498. In practice, most prepaid REPs ask for $30 to $75 to open service.
• Same-day activation. If your address already has an advanced smart meter, and most do under ERCOT's 8-million-plus deployment, the REP can send a remote connect command and put power on within a few hours, provided you enroll before the daily cutoff (usually 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Central).
• Balance notifications. Daily texts, emails, or app notifications with your remaining balance and estimated days of power.
• Disconnection threshold. Rule 25.498 permits disconnection once your balance falls to a low threshold (commonly $10), after the required advance notice.
• Rate. Prepaid plans generally price 20 to 30 percent higher per kWh than a competitive 12-month fixed-rate postpaid plan as of September 2026. That premium is the trade for skipping credit and the deposit.

Ed Hirs, energy economist and energy fellow at the University of Houston, explained the underlying market to Houston Public Media on May 24, 2024, describing Texas retail pricing as a system where generators earn most of their revenue during tight periods, which is why reserve capacity and short-notice service cost more. The prepaid premium reflects the same logic on the retail side: the REP absorbs settlement risk with no deposit, and that risk gets priced back into every kWh.

What does a no-deposit plan actually cost compared to a standard plan?

Here is a compact rate map (as of September 2026) so you can see the doors side by side.

Anchoring benchmarks for the 2026 market: the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported Texas residential electricity at roughly 15.41 cents per kWh in Q2 2026, Electric Choice put the Texas 2026 average at 16.1 cents per kWh (up from 13.9 cents in 2023), and TexasElectricityRatings reported that TDU delivery charges on an average residential bill rose 44 percent between 2016 and 2026. That last number matters for prepaid customers, because TDU delivery charges are usually rolled into the prepaid per-kWh rate rather than broken out.

Are there special no-deposit light companies for seniors?

Age 65 is one of the two PUCT Rule 25.478 categories every REP has to honor, so any REP in the ERCOT market has to accept a valid senior application as long as you aren't currently delinquent on an electric service account. There is no dedicated senior light company, and you should be careful of ads that suggest otherwise. What does exist:

• The Rule 25.478 age-65 waiver itself. Ask for it by name. It is the fastest path.
• LIHEAP-funded bill assistance through the Texas Comprehensive Energy Assistance Program (CEAP), administered county by county. CEAP does not waive deposits, but it can cover them.
• Provider-specific senior discounts. Some REPs run senior-marketed fixed rates in select markets. These are marketing labels, not a separate legal category.

Texas ended LITE-UP Texas, the statewide low-income discount, in 2016. Anything you see labeled LITE-UP in 2026 is out of date.

Are there "second-chance" light companies for bad credit?

Yes, and most of them are Door 4 (prepaid) providers. The consumer phrase second-chance light company almost always refers to a prepaid REP that accepts customers without a credit check and without a deposit. Payless Power, Acacia Energy, and Discount Power are the most-cited names in 2026 SERP results. A smaller group of postpaid REPs (Door 1) will approve customers with subprime credit if the applicant accepts a slightly higher fixed rate rather than a deposit, but this is negotiated case by case and is not a standard product.

If you carry an unpaid balance with a Texas REP, note that Rule 25.478 lets a new REP ask your prior REP for your payment history (with your authorization) or check a consumer reporting agency, and a delinquent account rules out the age 65 and payment-history categories. A REP that disconnected you for nonpayment can also require you to pay what you owe it, or sign a deferred payment agreement if it offers one, before it serves you again. A second-chance prepaid plan is often the only door open in that situation.

What are the trade-offs and hidden costs of a prepaid no-deposit plan?

Prepaid is not free money. In exchange for no deposit and no credit check, you accept four real costs.

• Rate premium. Expect to pay 20 to 30 percent more per kWh than a competitive 12-month fixed rate. On a 1,000-kWh month, that difference alone is roughly $30 to $50 as of September 2026.
• Disconnection sensitivity. Rule 25.498 allows disconnection at a low balance (often $10) after required notice. Miss a top-up during a heat wave and you can lose power the same day you meant to pay.
• Top-up fees and transaction minimums. Many prepaid REPs charge a small fee on each payment and set a $10 or $25 minimum. Fees are legal but must be disclosed on the Electricity Facts Label (EFL).
• No fixed rate lock. Prepaid rates can move month to month. A postpaid customer on a 12-month fixed plan is protected from a summer spike, and a prepaid customer usually is not.

The Texas Attorney General Consumer Protection Division accepts complaints against REPs that misrepresent any of these terms, including hidden fees or improper disconnection.

How do you actually enroll in a no-deposit light company today?

Five steps get most Texans on power within a business day.

1. Confirm your smart meter. Nearly every Oncor, CenterPoint, AEP Texas, and TNMP address already has an advanced meter, but a rural address may not. If Smart Meter Texas cannot find your ESI ID, call the TDU first.
2. Pick your door. Run through the Four Doors above and choose the one that fits your situation. Most households find Door 1 or Door 2 fastest and cheapest.
3. Gather documents. Photo ID and Social Security number for Doors 1 through 3, plus a letter of credit or guarantee for Door 3. For Door 2, gather the waiver-specific paperwork (age proof, the family violence certification letter, or the income and physician certifications for medical indigence). For Door 4, no ID beyond a name and address is usually required.
4. Enroll before the daily cutoff. Cutoffs for same-day activation typically fall between 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Central, Monday through Saturday. Sunday enrollments usually activate Monday.
5. Fund the first balance (Door 4) or confirm the plan (Doors 1 to 3). You will receive a welcome email, an Electricity Facts Label, and your Terms of Service.

Ambit Energy and no-deposit options

Ambit Energy runs a soft credit inquiry to decide whether a new residential Customer needs a deposit. Its Texas Residential Terms of Service list three situations where you may not have to pay one: a satisfactory credit rating, being 65 or older and not past due with your current REP, or providing a family violence certification letter. The same terms say the deposit can be waived if you're an existing customer of another REP and can show no more than one late payment in your last 12 months of service. The other Rule 25.478 categories above are required only of affiliated REPs and the provider of last resort, so ask about them when you enroll. If a deposit is required, Ambit's FAQ says you can pay it all at enrollment, in two installments, or in full within 30 days of your order, and the deposit plus interest is credited back to your account after 12 consecutive on-time payments.

If prepaid is genuinely the only fit today, one of the prepaid specialists above is built for that door, and we would rather see you connected than sitting without power. When your situation changes and a fixed-rate postpaid plan fits, you can compare Ambit Energy plans for your ZIP code.

Frequently asked questions

What is the cheapest no-deposit light company in Texas?

The cheapest no-deposit plan is almost always a Door 1 (soft-check) or Door 2 (waiver) fixed-rate plan, not a prepaid Door 4 plan. In the August 2026 market, ChooseMyPower reported the cheapest 1,000-kWh plan in Texas at 5.6 cents per kWh, and the median across six TDU territories at 16.0 cents per kWh. Prepaid plans (Payless Power at 18.49 cents per kWh on a 6-month plan as of September 8, 2026) sit above both.

Can I get a no-deposit light company with bad credit?

Yes. The two doors that do not depend on a credit score are Door 2 (PUCT Rule 25.478 waivers, if you fit one of its categories) and Door 4 (prepaid under Rule 25.498). Door 3 (letter of credit or letter of guarantee) also works if someone will sign a written guarantee for your account, or if you have a good payment record with a prior electric provider.

How long until my electricity deposit is refunded?

Under PUCT Rule 25.478, a REP has to refund a residential deposit once you've paid 12 consecutive residential bills with no late payments, and it can do that as a credit on your bill. When you leave a REP, it has to refund the deposit plus interest, minus anything you still owe, or transfer it to your new provider. Interest runs from the date of deposit at a rate at least equal to the one the PUCT sets each year, unless the deposit comes back within 30 days, and you can ask for it once a year or get it when the deposit is returned. For calendar year 2027 the PUCT set that rate at 3.68 percent, down from 4.12 percent in 2026, per EnergyChoiceMatters' report of the commission's November 5, 2026 decision. Check your statement after your 12th on-time bill to confirm the credit posted.

Does a hard credit check hurt my score to sign up for electricity?

A hard inquiry can lower your FICO score by a few points for a few months. A soft inquiry does not. Most Texas REPs that advertise no-deposit fixed-rate plans run soft inquiries. Ask directly whether the check will appear on your Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion file. If the answer is no, it is a soft check.

Can I get no-deposit electricity same day in Texas?

Yes, typically through Door 4 prepaid. If your address has a smart meter and you enroll before the daily cutoff, most prepaid REPs can activate service the same business day. Doors 1 through 3 usually take one to two business days because the REP has to complete the credit or waiver step.

What if I still owe another Texas REP for a past bill?

Under Rule 25.478, a new REP can ask your prior REP for your payment history (with your authorization) or check a consumer reporting agency. A delinquent account rules out the age 65 and payment-history categories, and without another way to show credit, the new REP can require a deposit. If you're going back to a REP that disconnected you for nonpayment, it can require you to pay what you owe it, or sign a deferred payment agreement if it offers one, first. A prepaid Door 4 plan is usually the only immediate option in that situation. Once the prior balance is paid, Doors 1 through 3 open back up.

Bottom line: which door is right for you?

• If your credit is fair to good, start with Door 1 (soft-check fixed-rate plans). It produces the lowest per-kWh rate as of September 2026.
• If you are 65 or older and current on your electric accounts, or a certified victim of family violence, use Door 2 with any REP. A good payment history or medical indigence also qualifies at affiliated REPs and the provider of last resort, and other REPs may accept them. Same low rate, no credit involvement.
• If you are new to Texas or credit-invisible, use Door 3. A letter of credit from your prior electric provider or a written guarantee moves you into the same fixed-rate class.
• If none of the above apply, or you need power today with no paperwork, use Door 4 prepaid. It is the most expensive door per kWh, but it is the fastest and it does not touch your credit.

Ready to see which door fits your ZIP code? Compare Ambit Energy plans and start service today.

Plan details and rates subject to change. Energy facts label available at enrollment. Subject to credit approval. Visit ambitenergy.com for full plan terms.

Ambit Energy sells six main families of residential and small business electricity plans in Texas as of September 2026: Lone Star Classic (fixed, 12 or 24 months), Lone Star Flex (variable, month-to-month), Free and Clear Nights (fixed with free overnight power), Texas Solar Buyback (fixed with export credits), high-usage plans like Secure Savings and Lone Star Plus, and the TSC commercial series for small businesses. This guide compares every one of them side by side, using the numbers on their most recent public Electricity Facts Labels (EFLs), and shows which plan actually suits which household or business. It is written for Texas households and small business owners shopping electricity plans, not for prospective Ambit Independent Consultants.

Unlike the generic Ambit overviews on ChooseEnergy, ChooseTexasPower, and ComparePower, which repeat headline rate ranges without breakeven math or expert context, every plan in this guide is anchored to its most recent published EFL, benchmarked against Texas market averages from the U.S. Energy Information Administration and ElectricChoice, and paired with a plain-English fit test drawn from real Ambit enrollments.

Key Takeaways

• Ambit runs six plan families in ERCOT: Lone Star Classic, Lone Star Flex, Free and Clear Nights, Texas Solar Buyback, high-usage plans (Secure Savings, Lone Star Plus, Budget Relief, Summer Break), and TSC commercial.
• The Lone Star Classic 24 lists at 16.8 cents per kWh at 1,000 kWh usage with a $9.95 monthly base fee and a $199 early termination fee, per its published EFL.
• Lone Star Flex is Ambit's only true no-contract, no-cancellation-fee residential plan. It trades that flexibility for variable pricing exposure.
• Free and Clear Nights gives 100% free electricity from 9:00 p.m. to 5:59 a.m. daily, with a 21.9 cents per kWh daytime rate, and only pays back for homes that shift more than about a quarter of their usage into those hours.
• Ambit's small business TSC 18 Month Term (Oncor) lists an 11.90 cents per kWh energy charge with a $9.99 minimum usage charge below 1,250 kWh and a $250 early termination fee.
• Every rate in this guide is drawn from the latest publicly available Ambit EFL and can change on a new enrollment. Always pull the current EFL on the Ambit site for your ZIP code and TDU before signing.

What Ambit Energy plans are available in Texas right now?

Ambit's Texas retail electricity lineup in 2026 has six plan families: two fixed-rate Lone Star Classic terms, a variable Lone Star Flex, a Free and Clear Nights time-of-use plan, a Texas Solar Buyback plan for rooftop-solar homes, three high-usage products (Secure Savings, Budget Relief, Summer Break), and a Texas Small Commercial (TSC) fixed series for small business. Which one saves you money depends more on your monthly kWh usage, hours of use, rooftop-solar status and appetite for a contract than on the headline rate.

Ambit was founded in Dallas in 2006 and is one of about 100 retail electric providers certified by the Public Utility Commission of Texas to serve the deregulated ERCOT market. That regulator sets the rules every plan below has to disclose: a standardized Electricity Facts Label, a Terms of Service, and a Your Rights as a Customer document at signup.

Here is how every current Ambit residential and commercial plan lines up on the four numbers that actually decide your bill: contract term, rate type, listed rate at 1,000 kWh usage, and the two fees that most often surprise people (monthly base and early termination).

For a plain-English walkthrough of the numbers on every EFL, see the six numbers that actually tell you what a Texas electricity plan will cost. Every rate above is drawn from Ambit's most recent published EFLs and can move on a new enrollment. The Texas Solar Buyback rows use Ambit's Oncor EFL dated November 2, 2026, whose average price already counts a buyback credit for 580 kWh of exports. Plan details subject to change, EFL available at signup, and enrollment subject to credit approval.

How do I compare Ambit Energy's fixed and variable rate plans?

A fixed rate plan locks your energy charge in cents per kWh for the entire contract term. A variable rate plan lets the retailer change that energy charge every month with 14 days written notice. Fixed protects you from wholesale spikes. Variable lets you leave any month without a cancellation fee. The choice is not a preference, it is a bet on which direction the ERCOT wholesale market will move over your contract.

The 2026 numbers back a bias toward fixed for anyone staying put through a summer. According to ERCOT, Texas set an all-time peak demand record of 91,089 MW on July 22, 2026, and posted an August 2026 weekend peak of 86,238 MW. Prices in ERCOT's real-time market spike hardest when demand nears those levels, which is what a fixed contract insulates a household from. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the Texas average residential retail price was 19.42 cents per kWh in its most recent annual filing, and ElectricChoice tracked Texas at roughly 16.99 cents per kWh in August 2026, so the average moves up several cents in the peak summer months.

"When demand hits a record and wholesale clears at scarcity prices, the households on variable rates absorb the difference in real time," Ed Hirs, an energy economist and University of Houston Energy Fellow, has said of Texas retail rate exposure. Michael Webber, professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, has made the same case in Utility Dive, arguing that Texas summer bills are now less about generation cost and more about how consumers manage their contract term. The Lone Star Classic 12 or 24 is Ambit's answer for households that want zero month-to-month rate surprises. The Lone Star Flex is for households that want the freedom to walk away any month and are willing to eat the volatility to get it.

For a market-timing view of whether to lock now, see my read on what the forward price curve says about locking a Texas fixed-rate plan.

What is Ambit's Lone Star Classic 12 and 24?

Lone Star Classic 12 is Ambit's flagship fixed-rate residential plan on a 12-month contract. Lone Star Classic 24 is the same plan on a 24-month contract and usually prices lower per kWh because the retailer is buying a longer forward strip of power. Both plans lock the energy charge you pay for the entire term and both carry the same $199 early termination fee if you cancel early.

The most recent publicly available EFL for Lone Star Classic 12 in the AEP North TDU area listed a 20.4 cents per kWh price at 1,000 kWh usage, a $9.95 monthly base charge, a $199 early termination fee, and a 9% renewable content share. Lone Star Classic 24 listed 16.8 cents per kWh at 1,000 kWh on the same fee structure. Both plans qualify for Ambit's E-Plan, a 0.2 cent per kWh discount for enrolling in paperless billing and autopay.

Ambit publishes separate EFLs for each of the five Texas TDU service areas (Oncor, CenterPoint, AEP Central, AEP North and TNMP) because delivery charges differ. The Public Utility Commission of Texas requires every REP to disclose the all-in average price at 500, 1,000, and 2,000 kWh on each TDU-specific EFL, which is why the same Ambit plan quotes a different rate in Dallas than in Houston. Two households on the exact same Lone Star Classic can see different quoted rates because they sit in different utility footprints.

Classic 12 fits households that expect to move or reassess in a year. Classic 24 fits households that want to set the rate once and stop thinking about it, and it is usually the cheaper per-kWh option of the two.

What is Ambit Lone Star Flex?

Lone Star Flex is Ambit's only true no-contract, no-cancellation-fee residential plan. It is billed month to month at a variable energy charge that Ambit can change with 14 days notice, and a $4.95 monthly base fee. Its most recently published rate at 1,000 kWh usage was 20.4 cents per kWh, but the whole point of the plan is that the rate is not locked, so that number is a snapshot and not a promise.

Flex is designed for two specific situations. The first is a household that just moved in and wants power on immediately without committing to a contract while they compare providers. The second is a household on a soon-to-expire fixed plan that wants a landing spot for one or two months without triggering a cancellation fee anywhere. The trade-off is straightforward: on a bad wholesale month you pay for it, and you have to actively re-shop to avoid rolling forward at an uncompetitive variable rate.

The risk here is well documented. According to a Wall Street Journal analysis of the February 2021 ERCOT event, some Texas households on variable and index products saw multi-thousand-dollar monthly bills when wholesale prices hit the $9,000 per MWh cap. Ambit's Flex is not a wholesale-indexed product and is not directly comparable to those cases, but the underlying point stands: a variable rate can move any month, in either direction, on 14 days notice. For most Texas households that plan to stay put through a summer, a Lone Star Classic 12 or 24 removes the risk that Flex is exposing you to.

How does Ambit Free and Clear Nights work?

Free and Clear Nights is a 12-month fixed plan that charges nothing for electricity consumed between 9:00 p.m. and 5:59 a.m. daily, seven days a week. Its most recent publicly listed daytime rate is 21.9 cents per kWh at 1,000 kWh, on a $9.95 monthly base and a $199 early termination fee. Ambit sources 100% of the plan's electricity from Texas wind generation and requires a smart meter to enroll (nearly every metered Texas home already has one).

The plan only saves money when a household actually shifts a meaningful share of its electricity usage into the free window. The rough break-even is that at least about 20 to 25 percent of monthly kWh needs to land between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. for the free-nights discount to outweigh the higher daytime rate. That threshold is not arbitrary. The U.S. Energy Information Administration Residential Energy Consumption Survey reports that the average Texas single-family home draws roughly 20% of its daily kWh between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m., driven by refrigeration, HVAC setback and always-on electronics. Households that also run a pool pump, EV charger, dishwasher, laundry and a smart thermostat pre-cool cycle on late-night schedules can push well past that ratio. Households that come home at 6 p.m. and are asleep by 10 usually cannot.

Katie Coleman, a Texas energy attorney who represents commercial ratepayers, has argued in Utility Dive that free-nights products are a rational answer to ERCOT's growing overnight wind surplus, which regularly clears at near-zero prices between midnight and dawn. For a side-by-side of Ambit's free-nights plan against the more famous TXU version with the actual break-even math, see TXU Free Nights and Weekends vs Ambit Free and Clear Nights: The Break-Even Math.

What is the Ambit Texas Solar Buyback plan?

Texas Solar Buyback is Ambit's plan for households with rooftop solar. It pays bill credits for excess distributed generation exported back to the grid at a fixed export rate, and it is offered in either a 12-month or 24-month fixed term. As of November 2, 2026, Ambit's EFLs list a 3.5 cents per kWh buyback credit for exported kWh, an energy charge of 11.3 cents per kWh in Oncor and 10.2 cents in CenterPoint, a $9.95 monthly base charge and a $199 early cancellation fee. The average price at 1,000 kWh is 17.5 cents (Oncor) and 16.2 cents (CenterPoint), a figure that already counts a buyback credit for 580 kWh of exports. Credits can offset up to 100% of your monthly energy charges, and unused credits bank up to $500 while you stay on an eligible Ambit solar buyback plan (see the Oncor EFL and CenterPoint EFL).

Solar Buyback is not the cheapest Ambit plan on the consumption side, and it is not designed to be. Solar owners get their value from the export credit, so the right question is not "does this plan have the cheapest rate" but "how does the credit rate stack against my monthly export volume." According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, Texas ranks second nationally in installed solar capacity, and residential rooftop growth has pushed most solar-friendly REPs to publish a public buyback rate rather than negotiate one at signup, which is exactly what Ambit did here.

For a full walkthrough of how those numbers pencil out on a real Texas solar home, see Ambit Solar Buyback Plan Review 2026 and the broader Best Solar Buyback Plan in Texas 2026 comparison. Households without rooftop solar should not sign this plan. The export credit does nothing for them and they will pay a higher energy charge than Lone Star Classic 24.

Are there Ambit Energy plans for higher-usage homes?

Yes. Ambit runs three products aimed at larger Texas homes and higher monthly kWh usage: Secure Savings, Budget Relief and Summer Break. Each targets a different pain point. Secure Savings lowers the effective rate above 1,000 kWh, Budget Relief drops a flat $50 credit onto bills that clear 1,000 kWh, and Summer Break halves the energy charge from June through September.

Secure Savings is a fixed-rate plan whose energy charge steps down when monthly usage reaches at least 1,000 kWh, so the effective rate is lower on a 1,500 or 2,000 kWh bill than on a 700 kWh bill. Budget Relief is a $50 monthly bill credit that triggers when usage reaches 1,000 kWh in a billing period, aimed at giving predictable relief on peak-summer bills. Summer Break is a seasonal plan that discounts the energy charge by 50% from June through September, when Texas cooling demand is highest and residential bills typically spike. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the average Texas residential customer consumed roughly 14,000 kWh across 2024, well above the U.S. average of about 10,800 kWh, so the "high-usage" bracket these plans target is larger in Texas than in most states.

According to Ambit Energy press materials (2024), Lone Star Plus 12 and Lone Star Basics 12 were introduced for the Oncor and CenterPoint service areas as a matched pair, with Plus targeting higher-usage households and Basics targeting lower-usage ones. Ambit publishes ZIP-specific EFLs for each, so the exact rate depends on the TDU footprint at your address. For context on how big "high-usage" actually is in Texas, see what's the average electricity bill in Texas, and how high-usage homes pay less.

What about Ambit's small business electricity plans?

Ambit sells a Texas Small Commercial (TSC) fixed-rate series to small businesses in ERCOT, priced on a lower cents-per-kWh energy charge than any residential plan but layered with a minimum-usage charge and a higher early termination fee. It is the right shape for a single-meter small business on a predictable weekday load. It is the wrong shape for a business with heavily seasonal or overnight usage.

The most recent publicly available EFL was TSC 18 Month Term for Oncor: 11.90 cents per kWh energy charge, a $9.99 monthly minimum-usage charge that only applies when usage is below 1,250 kWh, a $250 early termination fee, 9% renewable content, and no purchase of excess distributed generation (so this product is not designed for a solar business). Illustrative all-in prices on the EFL run 17.0 cents per kWh at 1,500 kWh, 18.0 cents at 2,500 kWh, and 17.8 cents at 3,500 kWh. TSC 24 Month Term is also offered for Oncor.

Commercial electricity is priced differently from residential. Small businesses often see meaningful savings from locking a longer term when the forward curve is flat or falling, because they can amortize the switching effort across 18 or 24 months of usage. For a broader read on where small business commercial rates sit and how the renewal window works, see commercial electricity rates in Texas: a small business renewal guide.

If that single-meter, weekday-load profile sounds like your business, you can request current business plan options for your service address.

What fees, deposits and cancellation charges apply?

Every Ambit Texas plan combines the same four cost lines: the energy charge (cents per kWh), the TDU pass-through delivery charges (set by Oncor, CenterPoint, AEP or TNMP), a monthly base or minimum-usage charge, and an early termination fee that only bites if you cancel a fixed contract early. Nothing on that list is a hidden fee, but every one of them is on the EFL and on the Terms of Service document Ambit is required to give you at signup.

• Monthly base fee: $4.95 on Lone Star Flex, $9.95 on the Classic, Free and Clear Nights and Solar Buyback fixed plans.
• Minimum usage charge: $9.99 per month on TSC commercial when monthly usage is below 1,250 kWh.
• Early termination fee: $199 on residential fixed plans, $250 on the TSC commercial plan reviewed here.
• Deposit: Ambit runs a credit check on enrollment. Good credit typically waives the deposit, and households that do not clear it can either post a deposit or shop a no-deposit product. The Public Utility Commission of Texas rules limit an initial deposit to no more than one-fifth of estimated annual billing. See no-deposit electricity in Texas: how to get power without a credit check for the alternatives.
• E-Plan discount: 0.2 cents per kWh off the energy charge on eligible Ambit fixed plans when the account is on paperless billing and autopay.

Plan details subject to change, EFL available at signup, and enrollment subject to credit approval.

How does Ambit's Try It, Like It, or Change It pledge work?

The Try It, Like It, or Change It pledge lets a new residential customer switch to a different Ambit plan for free within the first 60 days of service on select eligible plans. It is the mechanism Ambit uses to reduce the risk of picking the wrong plan on day one, and it is worth knowing about before you sign because the standard $199 early termination fee otherwise applies to every fixed residential plan.

According to Ambit Energy press materials (2024), the pledge specifically waives the cancellation fee that would otherwise apply if you moved off a fixed plan inside the term, provided the switch is to another Ambit product on an eligible plan. Practically, this means: if you enroll in Lone Star Classic 12 and discover in month one that more than a quarter of your usage is overnight, the pledge lets you switch into Free and Clear Nights without eating the ETF. If you enroll in Flex and get uncomfortable with the variable rate after a month, it is the mechanism that lets you move to a Classic 12 or 24. Ambit publishes the exact eligibility rules on its Satisfaction Guarantee page, and consultants can confirm which of your options actually qualify before you sign.

Which Ambit Energy plan actually fits which household or business?

The right Ambit plan is the one that matches your kWh bracket, your rate-type tolerance, your overnight usage share, your solar status and your contract tolerance, in that order. Rate alone is not the answer, because two households on the same rate can pay very different bills once TDU delivery charges and usage patterns are factored in. Run your household or business through six questions instead.

The 6-Line Ambit Plan Fit Test:

1. Monthly kWh bracket. Under 800 kWh a month usually favors a low-base plan (Flex has the lowest base at $4.95). 800 to 1,500 favors Lone Star Classic 12 or 24. Over 1,500 kWh favors Secure Savings or a plan that pairs with Budget Relief.
2. Rate-type tolerance. If a bad month on variable would upset you, rule out Flex and pick a fixed Classic term.
3. Overnight usage ratio. If more than about a quarter of your monthly kWh runs between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m., Free and Clear Nights can beat Classic 24 on total dollars. If not, it will not.
4. Rooftop solar. If you have exporting solar, Texas Solar Buyback is the only Ambit plan built to credit those exports. If you do not have solar, skip it.
5. Contract tolerance. If you might move or re-shop inside 12 months, Flex avoids the $199 ETF entirely. If you plan to stay put, Classic 24 is usually the cheapest fixed option.
6. Extras that matter to you. Ambit Ultimate Perks (rewards), Summer Break (seasonal 50% off), and E-Plan (0.2 cent paperless-plus-autopay discount) are lift-ons rather than plan pickers. Fold them in after questions 1 through 5.

For a small business, replace question 3 with "does your load run outside business hours" (Free and Clear Nights rarely fits a 9-to-5 office) and question 4 with "is your building metered separately from a landlord's electricity account." The TSC 18 Month or 24 Month Term is the default answer for a single-meter small business on Oncor.

Frequently asked questions

What is the cheapest Ambit Energy plan in Texas? On the residential side, Lone Star Classic 24 has consistently listed the lowest per-kWh energy charge on its recent EFLs, at 16.8 cents per kWh at 1,000 kWh usage. On the commercial side, TSC 18 Month Term (Oncor) lists an 11.90 cents per kWh energy charge, but the all-in per-kWh price a small business actually pays runs higher after TDU delivery and the minimum-usage charge are included. The truly cheapest plan for you depends on your ZIP code and monthly usage, so always compare the actual EFL for your address on the PUCT Power to Choose comparison site.

Does Ambit Energy have a no-deposit plan? Ambit runs a credit check on every enrollment and can waive the deposit for households that pass. Ambit does not publish a specifically branded no-deposit product. Households that cannot clear the credit check can post a deposit or shop the no-deposit alternatives explained in the same-day electricity no-deposit in Texas guide.

Can I switch Ambit plans without paying an early termination fee? Yes, under two conditions. First, the Try It, Like It, or Change It pledge lets a new customer switch to another Ambit plan for free within the first 60 days on eligible plans. Second, Lone Star Flex has no cancellation fee at any time because it is a month-to-month variable product.

Are Ambit Energy plans available in every Texas TDU area? Ambit sells retail electricity across the five ERCOT TDU service areas: Oncor (Dallas-Fort Worth and much of West Texas), CenterPoint (Houston and coastal Texas), AEP Central (Corpus Christi and the Valley), AEP North (Abilene area), and TNMP. Not every plan is offered in every TDU. Free and Clear Nights and the Solar Buyback plans, for example, depend on smart-meter coverage and TDU-specific tariffs. The Ambit shop-plans tool filters by ZIP so you only see products actually available at your address.

How do I read the Ambit Electricity Facts Label? Every Ambit plan comes with a one-page EFL that lists the energy charge in cents per kWh, the TDU delivery charge, the base or minimum-usage charge, the average price at 500, 1,000 and 2,000 kWh, the renewable content share, the contract term, and the early termination fee. The 1,000 kWh number is the fair comparison rate. For a numbered walkthrough of every line, see how to read your Texas Electricity Facts Label: the 6 numbers that actually tell you what a plan will cost.

The bottom line

Ambit's Texas lineup is not a single "best plan" and a bunch of near-clones. Each plan family is designed for a specific household or business profile: Classic 24 for the low-drama fixed rate, Flex for month-to-month freedom, Free and Clear Nights for real overnight-usage households, Solar Buyback for solar owners, Secure Savings and Budget Relief for high-usage homes, Summer Break for the summer spike, and TSC for small business. Run the 6-Line Ambit Plan Fit Test on your actual usage profile before you sign, and always pull the current EFL for your exact ZIP and TDU because the rates in this guide are drawn from the latest publicly available filings and can move on a new enrollment.

If you want a human read on the right pick for your address, Ambit's independent consultants can look at your recent bills and match a plan to the pattern in your usage rather than to the headline rate. Ambit Independent Consultant earnings vary and are not guaranteed. Independent contractor income depends on individual effort and business results.

This guide serves Texas households and small businesses shopping electricity plans, not prospective Ambit Independent Consultants. Every rate cited in this article is drawn from the latest publicly available Ambit Energy Electricity Facts Labels as of September 2026 and can change with a new enrollment. Plan details subject to change, EFL available at signup, and enrollment subject to credit approval.

Updated October 27, 2026. This article first said the August 1, 2026 changes raised a 1,000 kWh Oncor bill by $2.73. That figure added Rider IS on top of a delivery rate that already included it. The August 1 change was actually a net decrease of about $0.90. The article now covers the larger October 4, 2026 increase.

If you live in Oncor's service area, which covers Dallas-Fort Worth and much of North and Central Texas, your delivery charges went up on October 4, 2026. For bills rendered on or after that date, Oncor's residential delivery charge rose from 6.0295 cents to 6.8673 cents per kWh (as of October 4, 2026). At 1,000 kWh a month, that's about $8.38 more, taking the delivery side of a typical bill to $72.73.

These are temporary rates. The Public Utility Commission of Texas hasn't issued a final order in the case yet, so the amounts can still be reconciled up or down. Here's what changed, why, how to check it on your own bill, and what you can and can't do about it.

Key takeaways

• On October 4, 2026, Oncor's residential delivery charge rose by 0.8378 cents per kWh, from 6.0295 to 6.8673 cents (as of October 4, 2026). That's about $8.38 a month at 1,000 kWh.
• Two riders moved. The Distribution Cost Recovery Factor (DCRF) went from zero to 0.5755 cents per kWh, and the Transmission Cost Recovery Factor (TCRF) rose from 1.9046 to 2.1669 cents per kWh.
• The new rates come from Oncor's Unified Tracker Mechanism case, PUCT Docket 59249. As of October 27, 2026 there's no final order, so they're temporary and subject to reconciliation.
• The fixed charges didn't change. You still pay $1.48 for the customer charge and $2.58 for metering, $4.06 a month combined.
• Every Retail Electric Provider in Oncor's territory bills the same delivery charges. Switching providers won't avoid them. What you can shop is the energy charge and the plan structure.

Did Oncor increase delivery charges in October 2026?

Yes. Oncor put new rates into effect on a temporary basis for bills rendered on and after October 4, 2026, under its August 20, 2026 notice to the PUCT in Docket 59249. Here's what the change does to the Oncor delivery portion of a residential bill.

Delivery charges only, as of October 4, 2026. The earlier column matches the PUCT's monthly Oncor rate report as of October 1, 2026. Rows can be a cent off when you subtract them yourself because each figure is rounded to the cent. Your energy charge from your provider is separate.

If your bill hasn't moved yet, check its date. The new rates apply to bills rendered on or after October 4, 2026, so a bill dated before then still shows the old rate. Your first bill at the new rate is the first one dated October 4 or later.

The Three-Line Reconciliation: how to check the math on your own bill

You only need three numbers to see exactly what the October 4 change costs your household.

1. Oncor's residential delivery charge before October 4: 6.0295 cents ($0.060295) per kWh.
2. Oncor's residential delivery charge from October 4: 6.8673 cents ($0.068673) per kWh.
3. Your monthly kilowatt-hour usage, from the meter read on your bill.

Multiply your usage by both rates and subtract. Or take the shortcut: multiply your usage by 0.8378 cents. At 1,000 kWh that's $8.38. At 1,500 kWh it's about $12.57. At 750 kWh it's about $6.28. The $4.06 in fixed charges is the same before and after.

The key rule when you do this yourself: the new total equals the old published total plus the change. Don't add a rider's full amount on top of a total that already includes it. That's the exact mistake the first version of this article made with Rider IS in August.

What's inside the 6.8673 cents

Oncor's residential delivery charge isn't one rate. It's a base distribution charge plus a stack of riders, each approved separately at the PUCT. Here's the full residential stack from Oncor's Tariff for Retail Delivery Service, before and after October 4, 2026.

Rates as of October 4, 2026. Add the $4.06 in monthly fixed charges to get your delivery total.

Only two lines moved. The DCRF covers Oncor's investment in local distribution wires, poles and transformers between rate cases. It was reset to zero on June 1, 2026, when Oncor's new base rates took effect, and the October 4 update starts it again at 0.5755 cents. The TCRF covers high-voltage transmission lines across the ERCOT grid, and it rose 0.2623 cents.

What is Oncor's Unified Tracker Mechanism?

Texas utilities have typically updated their distribution and transmission cost recovery in separate filings. Under Section 36.216 of the Public Utility Regulatory Act, a utility can now file one annual proceeding that adjusts those trackers together on a system-wide basis. Oncor calls its version the Unified Tracker Mechanism, or UTM.

Oncor filed its UTM application on April 22, 2026, in PUCT Docket 59249. The filing combines updates to the DCRF, interim transmission cost of service and the TCRF, and the DCRF portion includes deferred costs from Oncor's System Resiliency Plan. In its May 7, 2026 first-quarter results release, Oncor said the request covers about $4.4 billion in transmission and distribution investment made during 2025 and would add about $550 million in net revenue.

On August 20, 2026, Oncor told the PUCT it had met the law's notice requirements and would put its requested rates into effect on a temporary basis on October 4, 2026. As of October 27, 2026, no final order has been issued. When one comes, any difference between the temporary rates and the approved ones gets reconciled.

Why Oncor's $3.85 estimate doesn't match the $8.38

If you read news coverage of the filing, you may have seen a smaller number. In that same May 7 release, Oncor estimated the request would add about $3.85 a month for a residential customer using 1,000 kWh, "over current rates."

The two figures start from different places. Oncor's estimate was measured against the rates in effect in spring 2026, before new base rates took effect on June 1 and reset the DCRF to zero, and before the August 1 transmission update. The $8.38 in this article compares the rates on your bills from August 1 to October 3 with the rates in effect since October 4, read straight from Oncor's tariff sheets. If you're comparing your September and October bills, $8.38 at 1,000 kWh is the number that matches what you'll see.

What really happened on August 1, 2026

Two things changed on August 1, and they moved in opposite directions. Effective August 1, 2026, the TCRF fell from 2.3580 to 1.9046 cents per kWh, a cut of 0.4534 cents. On the same day, Rider IS started at 0.3633 cents per kWh. Net, Oncor's residential delivery charge went from 6.1196 cents in July to 6.0295 cents in August.

So at 1,000 kWh, the Oncor side of your bill went down about $0.90, from $65.26 to $64.36. Rider IS was already inside that lower August rate. Against July, the October 4 rates put a 1,000 kWh delivery bill roughly $7.50 higher.

What is Rider IS, and when does it end?

Rider IS, short for Interim Surcharge, came out of Oncor's last full base-rate case, PUCT Docket 58306. Oncor filed that case on June 26, 2025, asking for about $834 million in additional annual revenue, according to Oncor. The PUCT approved a settlement on April 17, 2026 for a $560 million increase, more than 30 percent below the original ask, according to the Texas Coalition for Affordable Power. The new base rates took effect June 1, 2026.

Oncor billed the old rates from January through May while the case was pending. Rider IS recovers the difference between those rates and the newly approved ones. For residential customers it's 0.3633 cents per kWh (as of October 27, 2026), which Oncor's second-quarter 2026 results release put at about $3.63 a month at 1,000 kWh. The tariff sets the approved recovery amount at $168,470,954.

Under Oncor's tariff, Rider IS stays in effect through December 2026. Any over- or under-recovery is reconciled in a later proceeding. Across August through December, it adds about $18 in total at 1,000 kWh a month and about $27 at 1,500 kWh.

One more December item to know about: Oncor's Mobile Generation rider applies only in December each year. In December 2025 it was 0.1027 cents per kWh, about $1.03 at 1,000 kWh. Oncor hadn't published the December 2026 amount as of October 27, 2026.

What changed for small businesses

Commercial rate classes moved too, by different amounts. For secondary service at 10 kW or below, the TCRF fell from 1.6974 to 1.3382 cents per kWh while the new DCRF added 0.6208 cents. Net, that's an increase of 0.2616 cents per kWh, or about $2.62 per 1,000 kWh (as of October 4, 2026).

Above 10 kW, both riders are billed per kW of demand. The new DCRF for secondary service above 10 kW is $1.068522 per billing kW. Rider IS also continues through December at the commercial rates set in the tariff:

• Secondary service at 10 kW or below: $0.002878 per kWh.
• Secondary service above 10 kW: $0.997891 per billing kW.
• Primary service at 10 kW or below: $0.059827 per kWh.
• Primary service above 10 kW: $0.908924 per billing kW.
• Primary substation: $0.130513 per billing kW.
• Lighting service: $0.048697 per kWh.

If you run a small business in Oncor's territory, run your last bill through your rate class to size the change before your next renewal window opens. If you're shopping for that renewal now, you can request plan options for your business.

Can you avoid Oncor delivery charges by switching providers?

No. It's the most misunderstood part of the Texas deregulated market, so it's worth saying plainly. Every Retail Electric Provider in Oncor's territory bills the exact same delivery charges, including the October 4 DCRF and TCRF and Rider IS. Switching doesn't remove them, hide them or discount them. A provider can show them line by line, roll them into an all-in rate or fold them into a bill message. The dollars are the same either way.

What you can shop is the energy charge, the plan structure and how monthly base fees fit your usage. If you use a lot, a lower per-kWh energy charge can outweigh a slightly higher base fee. If you use less, the opposite often holds. Compare plans by reading the Electricity Facts Label at your typical usage, not the marketing headline. For a step-by-step walkthrough, see How to Read Your Texas Electricity Facts Label. For every TDU line item on a Texas bill, see TDU Delivery Charges Explained, and for how Houston's utility compares, see CenterPoint delivery charges and your Houston bill.

What Texas households can actually control this fall

Because the delivery change is fixed and universal, the parts of your bill worth your attention are the parts you choose.

• Your usage. Delivery is mostly billed per kWh, so every kWh you don't use saves about 6.87 cents in Oncor delivery alone (as of October 4, 2026), before your energy charge.
• Your plan type. Fixed-rate plans lock the energy charge for a term. Variable-rate plans move with the market. For the forward-curve read, see Should Texans Lock In a Fixed-Rate Electricity Plan This August.
• Your contract length. Longer terms usually price lower per kWh but cost flexibility, and early termination fees vary by plan.
• Your usage pattern. If your household runs heavy loads in specific windows, a free-nights or free-weekends plan can win the math, but only when the daytime rate is competitive. See TXU Free Nights and Weekends vs Ambit Free and Clear Nights for the break-even work.
• Your Electricity Facts Label. Read all six numbers at 500, 1,000 and 2,000 kWh. A plan that looks good at 2,000 kWh can look bad at 500 kWh, and the reverse.

Ambit Energy plan details, availability, and pricing vary. Rates and terms shown are as of publication and subject to change. See the current Electricity Facts Label for full terms and check pricing as of your enrollment date. Enrollment is subject to credit approval and plan availability. Earnings vary and are not guaranteed. Average earnings and savings depend on individual usage, plan selection, and market conditions.

Frequently asked questions

Did Oncor increase delivery charges in 2026?

Yes. On October 4, 2026, Oncor's residential delivery charge rose from 6.0295 to 6.8673 cents per kWh on a temporary basis (as of October 4, 2026). At 1,000 kWh, that's about $8.38 more a month, for a delivery total of $72.73.

Why did Oncor delivery charges go up on October 4, 2026?

Oncor's Unified Tracker Mechanism case, PUCT Docket 59249, updates the riders that recover its distribution and transmission investment. The DCRF went from zero to 0.5755 cents per kWh and the TCRF rose from 1.9046 to 2.1669 cents per kWh.

Are the October 4 Oncor rates final?

No. As of October 27, 2026, the PUCT hasn't issued a final order in Docket 59249. The rates are temporary, and any difference from the final approved rates will be reconciled.

Did Oncor's delivery charge go up or down on August 1, 2026?

Down, slightly. Effective August 1, 2026, the TCRF dropped by 0.4534 cents per kWh and Rider IS added 0.3633 cents, so the residential rate fell from 6.1196 to 6.0295 cents. That's about $0.90 less at 1,000 kWh.

When does the Oncor interim surcharge end?

Rider IS stays in effect through December 2026, according to Oncor's tariff. Any over- or under-recovery is reconciled in a later proceeding.

Can I avoid Oncor delivery charges?

Not by switching providers. Every Retail Electric Provider in Oncor's territory passes through the same delivery charges. You can lower them only by using fewer kWh, and you can shop the energy charge, base fees and plan terms.

Does this apply to small businesses too?

Yes, with different amounts by rate class. For secondary service at 10 kW or below, the net change is about 0.2616 cents per kWh (as of October 4, 2026). Above 10 kW, the riders are billed per kW of demand.

Where can I read the source documents?

The UTM case is Docket 59249 on the PUCT Interchange, and the temporary tariff sheets are in item 105. The base-rate case is Docket 58306. The PUCT publishes a monthly TDU rate report, and Oncor posts its retail delivery tariff on its regulatory page.

If most of your electricity runs after 9 p.m., a free hours plan can shave hundreds off your bill. If most of it runs before dinner, the same plan can add hundreds. TXU Free Nights and Weekends and Ambit Free and Clear Nights sit on opposite sides of that math: TXU throws in the whole weekend, while Ambit keeps its free window strictly overnight but stretches it to seven nights a week. Which one wins depends on one number pulled from your own smart meter, and the sections below walk that number all the way to a dollar answer using an original Free Hours Break-Even Framework.

Key takeaways

• TXU Free Nights and Weekends offers free electricity roughly 9 p.m. to 4:59 a.m. every night plus all day Saturday and Sunday, per the current TXU Energy plans page and its August 6, 2026 Oncor EFL.
• Ambit Free and Clear Nights offers free electricity 9 p.m. to 5:59 a.m. seven nights a week, per Ambit's own Free and Clear Nights launch announcement.
• A 2026 field analysis of two Dallas Fort Worth homes on Oncor by Watt Owl found real nighttime usage of only 15 to 22 percent, well below the 47 percent breakeven that specific plan required, and both homes paid $165 to $1,024 more per year than they would have on a competitive fixed rate.
• Energy portfolio analyst Greg Steagall concluded in a 2024 review that customers on a TXU Live Your Free variant generally pay more unless at least 70 percent of their kWh runs during the free window.
• You still pay TDU delivery charges of roughly 4.98 to 6.47 cents per kWh even during the free hours, per ElectricityPlans' 2026 residential TDU delivery table, so nothing on a free hours plan is actually free.
• The Free Hours Break-Even Framework in this article turns those five variables into one dollar answer per year, using only free data from Smart Meter Texas and the Power to Choose EFL for your ZIP.

What is TXU Free Nights and Weekends?

TXU Free Nights and Weekends is a time of use residential electricity plan from TXU Energy that zeroes out the energy charge portion of your bill for a set overnight window each day and for all day Saturday and Sunday. The plan is served across TXU's Oncor, CenterPoint, AEP Texas, and TNMP service areas, and the specific free-hour window and daytime rate can vary by EFL and territory, per the current TXU plans page.

The 2026 Oncor EFL for a TXU free-nights variant lists a $9.95 monthly base charge, a 12-month term, and a $150 early termination fee, per a review by ChooseTexasPower citing the August 6, 2026 EFL. Daytime energy charges on TXU free-hours products historically run in the 18 to 22 cents per kWh range, with an example as high as 26.7 cents per kWh flagged by author Enri Zhulati in the ElectricRates.org 2025 category review (published December 31, 2025, updated April 13, 2026). The exact daytime rate on your EFL is what makes or breaks the math.

The tradeoff is baked into the design. TXU gives you more hours of free electricity than any other Texas plan by adding both weekend days. In exchange, TXU sets the daytime rate high enough that a homeowner who uses most of their electricity during the workday, on a laptop, air conditioning, cooking, laundry, will pay a premium versus a straight fixed rate plan.

What is Ambit Free and Clear Nights?

Ambit Free and Clear Nights is a residential time of use plan from Ambit Energy that provides free electricity from 9 p.m. to 5:59 a.m., seven nights a week. Ambit's launch announcement states the free window is nightly and that the plan is available across Ambit Texas markets with smart meters installed.

Secondary plan summaries put the daytime energy charge on the current Free and Clear Nights 12 at 21.9 cents per kWh, a $9.95 monthly base charge, a 12-month term, and a $199 early termination fee. That daytime rate sits at the higher end of the ElectricRates.org 2025 range for free-nights plans, which is the same tradeoff every plan in this category makes: cheaper nights come from more expensive days.

The Ambit design is narrower than TXU's on hours. There is no free weekend. In exchange, Ambit's overnight window is an hour longer than the TXU 9 to 4:59 a.m. window, running until 5:59 a.m., which matters more to a shift worker or an EV charger than to a typical weekday household.

TXU Free Nights and Weekends vs Ambit Free and Clear Nights: side by side

Every figure in the table above is drawn from the current EFL or from published plan summaries. Always pull your own EFL from Power to Choose or the retailer's site and confirm the numbers for your specific ZIP code and enrollment date. Plan details, EFL availability, and credit approval apply. Rates as of August 2026.

The Free Hours Break-Even Framework: the three numbers that decide

Most head-to-head reviews stop at feature grids. This article walks the math one step further with the Free Hours Break-Even Framework, an original three-variable framework you can run on your own smart meter data before you enroll. The whole comparison collapses into a single question: what percent of your kWh runs during the free window? That number has to clear a threshold, and the threshold is not the same on both plans because the free windows are not the same size.

The framework distills the comparison to three numbers.

1. Free share, the percent of your kWh that runs during the plan's free window. You can pull this from your smart meter data at Smart Meter Texas.
2. Daytime premium, the difference between the plan's daytime kWh rate and the flat rate you would otherwise pay. If the free-nights daytime rate is 21.9 cents and a 12-month fixed plan in your ZIP is 14 cents, the premium is 7.9 cents per kWh.
3. TDU delivery still-owed, 4.98 to 6.47 cents per kWh depending on your utility per ElectricityPlans, which you owe on every kWh, free-window or not.

The breakeven is the free share that makes the daytime premium equal to the free-window savings. On a plan with a 7.9 cent daytime premium and a 14 cent baseline, that free share sits in the mid-30 to low-40 percent range for the plan itself, and closer to 47 percent once you fold in TDU delivery on your daytime hours, matching Watt Owl's field-derived 47 percent breakeven. On a plan with a wider premium (Zhulati's 26.7 cent example), the required free share climbs into the 60 to 70 percent range. Greg Steagall, a Fortune 50 energy portfolio manager writing at Energy Choice Experts, concluded in his 2024 review of a TXU Live Your Free variant that customers generally pay more unless at least 70 percent of their electricity runs during the free periods. That number is a useful worst-case guardrail for the framework.

TXU Free Nights and Weekends usually has a lower breakeven than Ambit Free and Clear Nights on the same daytime rate, because the weekend hours pull more of an average household's usage into the free window without any behavior change. That is the structural advantage TXU is selling.

How much do TDU delivery charges add during the "free" hours?

Nothing on a free-nights plan is actually free, because the TDU wires charge is separate from the energy charge and it does not go away. According to ElectricityPlans in 2026, the residential delivery charge is roughly 4.98 cents per kWh in CenterPoint territory, 6.03 cents per kWh in Oncor, 5.83 cents per kWh in AEP Texas Central, 5.67 cents per kWh in AEP Texas North, and 6.47 cents per kWh in TNMP. Competitor coverage of this plan class routinely omits that per-utility breakdown; the Framework treats it as its third variable.

A 2026 field analysis at Watt Owl put it plainly: even the "free" hours on a Dallas-area free-nights plan cost about 6 cents per kWh in TDU delivery. On 400 kWh of overnight usage in a month, that is $24 you were told was zero. Whether the plan still wins depends on how much the daytime savings on the rest of your usage outrun that delivery bill.

Why TXU Free Nights and Weekends usually wins on the clock

TXU has roughly 41 more free hours per week than Ambit does, and that structural advantage does most of the work. A typical Texas household that spends Saturday running the AC, the dishwasher, and the laundry gets to move all of that consumption into a free window without changing a single habit. The plan is friendly to weekend-heavy homes, families with kids home from school on the weekend, and remote workers whose electric load is roughly the same seven days a week.

TXU's design also handles the summer AC problem better than an overnight-only plan. Air conditioning cycles hardest in the mid-afternoon on hot Texas weekend days, and putting those hours in the free window is a real bill mover. Per the US Energy Information Administration, air conditioning is the single largest end use of residential electricity in the US and the largest single load in Texas homes during summer months, which is why the weekend savings matter more here than they would in a cooler market.

Why Ambit Free and Clear Nights can still win for pure night owls

The Ambit plan targets a specific customer: the household whose overnight window is long and predictable, and whose weekend usage is not much heavier than a weekday. An EV owner who charges every night, a shift worker on a 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. rotation, a family that runs dishwashers and pool pumps only after bedtime, all sit inside the Ambit free window.

Ambit also runs an hour longer overnight than TXU's typical 9 to 4:59 a.m. window. That extra hour, 5 a.m. to 5:59 a.m., is when many households run their coffee makers, heat their water for showers, and start dryers before the workday begins. Small change, but it is real. Over a year of 365 nights, that single extra hour adds roughly 23 free hours per month that TXU does not offer, which is the Ambit design's whole reason to exist.

The trap is easy to see. If a household picks Ambit because "free nights" sounds good, then runs its dishwashers, laundry, and pool pumps on Saturday morning like everyone else does, the 21.9 cent daytime rate quietly outruns the overnight savings.

What real Texas homes have found: the two most cited datasets

Real household data is more useful here than a marketing brochure. A 2026 field analysis of two Dallas-Fort Worth homes on Oncor by Watt Owl, published March 1, 2026, found only 15 to 22 percent of the households' actual kWh fell inside the free-nights window. On the specific free-nights plan the study compared to a competitive fixed rate, the breakeven was 47 percent nighttime use. Neither home cleared the bar.

Watt Owl's conclusion: the two homes paid $165 to $1,024 more per year on the free-nights plan than they would have paid on a competitive fixed rate. The higher figure came from the home with the lowest nighttime share and the heaviest afternoon AC load.

A parallel review by ComparePower author Graham Griffin, TXU Free Nights and Weekends: Avoid a $720 Mistake, edited by Enri Zhulati, walked a specific TXU EFL scenario and found the plan cost a modeled household $720 more per year than a fixed-rate alternative on the same annual usage. Two different independent reviews, using different homes, both landed in the $165 to $1,024 range of annual damage for the wrong household.

Academic research reaches a similar cautious view. In a Knowledge at Wharton discussion of dynamic electricity pricing, Wharton finance professor Arthur van Benthem describes a two-sided outcome: efficient time-varying prices can shift demand away from peak periods, but complicated tariff structures can backfire when customers do not fully understand them. A 2020 MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research working paper on retail rate design in a decarbonizing economy reaches parallel conclusions on time of use and critical peak pricing designs.

That is a fair summary of the free nights choice. The plans work for the households that fit them and cost the ones that do not.

What independent experts and researchers say

Five independent voices frame the tradeoff, and their views cluster in the same place: free hours plans work when the free share is well above the breakeven, and lose real money when it is not.

• Greg Steagall, Fortune 50 energy portfolio manager, Energy Choice Experts, 2024: on a TXU Live Your Free variant, customers generally pay more unless 70 percent or more of consumption runs in the free window.
• Enri Zhulati, ElectricRates.org, 2025 to 2026 update: daytime rates on free-nights products run 18 to 22 cents per kWh with examples as high as 26.7 cents per kWh, which raises the required free share the household must clear.
• Graham Griffin, ComparePower: a specific modeled TXU Free Nights household paid $720 per year more than a fixed rate on the same annual kWh.
• Watt Owl, March 2026 real-data analysis: two DFW homes on Oncor saw 15 to 22 percent night share and paid $165 to $1,024 more per year than a competitive fixed rate.
• Arthur van Benthem, Wharton, in Knowledge at Wharton: dynamic pricing can improve efficiency but complicated tariffs backfire when customers do not fully model them.

None of these five sources appears in the top-ranking competitor coverage of these plans. That is the ground the Free Hours Break-Even Framework is trying to stand on.

Which shift patterns fit which plan

• Weekend-heavy household with school-age kids: TXU Free Nights and Weekends usually wins on the weekend hours alone.
• Retired couple home most days: either plan can lose. A straight fixed rate usually wins.
• Shift worker on nights: Ambit Free and Clear Nights fits, thanks to the longer overnight window.
• EV owner charging 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. every night: Ambit Free and Clear Nights usually wins for the extra hour, but check whether the daytime rate outruns you on the rest of your usage.
• Remote worker heavy on 9 to 5 laptop and AC: neither plan tends to win. Look at a straight fixed rate instead.
• Solar owner: neither free-nights plan is designed for solar. Look at a solar buyback plan instead.

Early termination fees and other fine print

Both plans lock you in for 12 months with real teeth. TXU's early termination fee on the current Free Nights variant is $150 per the August 6, 2026 EFL. Ambit's Free and Clear Nights ETF is $199 per plan summaries. Neither is unusual for a Texas 12-month product, but neither is trivial if your free-share number ends up below breakeven and you want to switch mid-contract.

Two other fine-print items to check on each EFL:

• Base charge treatment when usage is very low. On a low-use month, a $9.95 base charge can push the effective per-kWh cost above the daytime rate you were quoted.
• Minimum usage fees. Some free-hours products carry a minimum monthly usage requirement or an escalating late payment fee. Read the "Other Key Terms" section of the EFL, and confirm the standard-service backstop with the Public Utility Commission of Texas consumer help hub.

How to run your own Free Hours Break-Even Framework

You do not have to guess at the free-share number. Every Texas home with a smart meter can pull their own hourly consumption data from Smart Meter Texas. Once you have 12 months of hourly kWh, you can slice usage into the plan's free window and the rest of the clock, and compute your real free share directly. This is the framework in five steps.

1. Register at Smart Meter Texas with your ESI ID from your current bill.
2. Download 12 months of hourly usage data as a CSV.
3. Sum kWh inside the TXU free window (Mon to Fri 9 p.m. to 4:59 a.m., plus all of Saturday and Sunday) and separately inside the Ambit free window (every night 9 p.m. to 5:59 a.m.).
4. Divide each by your annual total. Those two percentages are your free-share numbers for each plan.
5. Compare each free share against the breakeven implied by the plan's daytime rate versus a fixed-rate alternative in your ZIP, using Power to Choose for the EFL and the daytime rate. Watt Owl's real-data cases suggest a floor near 47 percent on many current free-nights EFLs, and Greg Steagall's guardrail is closer to 70 percent for plans with the widest daytime premium.

If your calculated free share sits comfortably above the plan's breakeven, the plan can save you money. If it sits below, a straight fixed rate almost always wins.

For a deeper walkthrough of how to read a free-nights EFL line by line, see The Real Cost of Free Nights Plans, and for a shortcut calculator by ZIP code see Best Free Nights Plans in Texas by ZIP Code. If you want to check whether the plans available at your address include a free-nights option worth running through this test, our Free Nights Plan Calculator is the fastest way in. And if you are new to how Texas retail electricity even works, How Texas Deregulated Electricity Works is the primer.

Frequently asked questions

What time do the free hours start on TXU Free Nights and Weekends?

The current 2026 TXU free-nights EFL for Oncor territory lists free electricity from 9 p.m. through 4:59 a.m. daily, plus all day Saturday and Sunday. The exact window can vary by EFL edition and TDU service area, so always confirm on the EFL for your ZIP code at Power to Choose before enrolling.

What time do the free hours start on Ambit Free and Clear Nights?

Ambit's launch materials state free electricity from 9 p.m. to 5:59 a.m., every night of the week. That is one hour longer than the typical TXU overnight window and applies seven nights a week, but there is no free weekend on this Ambit plan.

Is TXU Free Nights and Weekends worth it?

It depends on your free share. TXU's plan usually needs your household to run at least 40 to 50 percent of its electricity during the free window to beat a competitive fixed rate, and closer to 70 percent when the daytime premium is at the high end of the range. Weekend-heavy households often clear that bar without changing habits. Weekday-heavy households usually do not, per the modeled $720 annual delta in ComparePower's review.

Is Ambit Free and Clear Nights worth it?

It works for households whose usage is heavily overnight and whose weekends are not much busier than weekdays. Shift workers, overnight EV chargers, and households on strict overnight run schedules are the ones who tend to save. A typical family with heavy Saturday and Sunday usage often does better on a plan that includes the weekend.

Do you still pay TDU delivery charges during the "free" hours?

Yes. The TDU wires charge, 4.98 to 6.47 cents per kWh depending on which utility delivers your power per ElectricityPlans, applies on every kWh you use. The plan zeroes out the retailer's energy charge for that window but not the TDU's delivery charge, per the 2026 Watt Owl field analysis.

Which plan has the lower early termination fee?

TXU's Free Nights variant lists a $150 ETF on its August 6, 2026 EFL for Oncor. Ambit Free and Clear Nights lists a $199 ETF in plan summaries. Both are 12-month contracts. Neither is a soft exit if you decide mid-contract the plan does not fit.

Ambit Energy is a home-based business opportunity and a licensed retail electricity provider in Texas. Earnings vary. Individual results and household savings vary. All plans are subject to credit approval and to the terms of the current Electricity Facts Label for your service area.

If your goal is a predictable bill through the winter, August 2026 is a reasonable time to lock a fixed-rate plan in Texas. The forward price curve for winter 2026-2027 is not screaming an emergency, but it is pricing in real risk from data-center load growth and Gulf Coast LNG demand, and the cheapest teaser rates on Power to Choose right now are exposed to that curve. A short-to-mid term fixed plan protects the winter side of your bill without over-committing.

Key takeaways

• ERCOT's summer 2026 peak demand forecast is 92,211 MW, about 8% above the August 2023 record of 85,464 MW, per ERCOT.
• Henry Hub natural gas futures are forecast at $4.31 per MMBtu in 2026 and $4.38 in 2027, up from $3.52 in 2025, per EIA.
• Under EIA's high-demand ERCOT scenario, 2027 North-hub wholesale power prices rise from $47.39 per MWh to about $84.80, a 78.9% jump, per Utility Dive.
• August 2026 residential Texas fixed rates run from about 6.0 to 11.8 cents per kWh on 12-month plans, and up to about 18.3 cents on prepaid, per Power to Choose listings.
• Locking a fixed rate is a bill-certainty decision, not a bet that today's rate is the absolute cheapest point in the market.

What the ERCOT forward price curve actually tells you

The forward price curve is the market's live estimate of what wholesale power will cost in each future delivery month. Retailers use it as the raw ingredient in every fixed-rate plan they write, then add TDU delivery charges, ancillary costs, and a margin. When the curve for December 2026 through February 2027 sits meaningfully above the summer curve, that is the market pricing in winter risk, and fixed rates reflect it before the weather does.

Three signals matter right now. Load growth is real: ERCOT's April 2026 preliminary long-term forecast projects about 367,790 MW of demand in the ERCOT region by 2032, largely driven by data centers and industrial expansion. Gas fundamentals have softened slightly: EIA's August 11, 2026 Short-Term Energy Outlook trimmed the Henry Hub price outlook by 2% for 2026 and 4% for 2027 compared to earlier forecasts. And near-term wholesale prices have not been as violent as headlines suggest, with Doug Lewin, a Texas energy analyst whose public profile lists energy strategy work in Texas at Google, noting that during the July 2026 heat event wholesale prices stayed "well below the cap (95% below at times)."

Two of those signals argue for patience. One argues for prudence. That is why the forward curve for winter 2026-2027 is up but not extreme, and why the August lock question is a judgment call rather than an obvious yes or no. If you want to see how these plan structures interact with your actual bill, our guide on how to read your Texas electricity bill walks through every line item.

Where fixed and variable rates sit on Power to Choose this August

As of August 2026, Texas residential retail listings show a wide spread across term lengths and plan types.

• 12-month fixed plans start at about 6.0 cents per kWh at the low end and reach roughly 10.4 to 11.8 cents per kWh at the higher end, depending on ZIP code and provider.
• 24-month fixed plans sit in the 6.8 to 7.6 cents per kWh range in most sampled markets.
• 36-month fixed plans run 13.1 to 14.0 cents per kWh in several ZIP codes, reflecting the premium providers charge for longer-dated risk.
• Prepaid plans reach as high as about 18.3 cents per kWh, showing the cost of skipping the credit check.

Two things jump out from those numbers. The spread between the lowest teaser rate and the highest plan on the same market page is often 10 cents per kWh or more. And 36-month plans are priced above 24-month plans, which is the forward curve talking: the market expects the second half of the decade to cost more, not less. Actual rates vary by ZIP code, TDU, plan, and usage level. Energy facts label available on every Ambit plan, showing the all-in cents-per-kWh at 500, 1,000, and 2,000 kWh so you can compare apples to apples. Our guide to picking the right rate plan in 2026 walks you through the EFL and the five plan tricks to spot before you sign.

Variable-rate plans, by contrast, are a monthly bet on the wholesale market. They can undercut fixed pricing during mild months, and they can spike hard in a cold snap. There is no regulatory cap on how much a variable rate can move month to month in Texas, and there is no reset button on the bill once the move happens.

Four forces pulling on the 2026-2027 Texas forward curve

Natural gas fundamentals and LNG exports

Gas sets the marginal price of power in ERCOT most hours of the year, so gas is where the curve starts. According to Naser Ameen, a principal contributor at the U.S. Energy Information Administration, "We expect prices to rise from $3.52 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) in 2025 to $4.31/MMBtu in 2026 and to $4.38/MMBtu in 2027." Rising Haynesville production is being pulled toward Gulf Coast LNG terminals, which keeps upward pressure on the domestic gas market even as U.S. production hits record highs.

ERCOT reserve margin and data-center load

ERCOT's minimum reserve-margin target is 13.75% of peak demand, and that target gets harder to hit as load growth accelerates. ERCOT President and CEO Pablo Vegas confirmed in April 2026 that "the current forecast projects approximately 367,790 MW of demand in the ERCOT Region by 2032," a step-change driven largely by data centers. For more on how the ERCOT grid and the retail market fit together, see our explainer on how Texas deregulated electricity works.

Not everyone thinks the load will arrive on that timeline. Joshua D. Rhodes, a research scientist at the University of Texas at Austin, told the Texas Tribune that "I just don't believe that that much new load can come online that fast, so I don't think things are as bad as the report would indicate." That skepticism matters because the price curve moves with expected load, and if the market reprices the timeline, the curve will follow.

New solar and battery storage coming online

Supply growth is the counterweight. S&P Global's July 2026 grid outlook identified nearly 28 GW of planned ERCOT additions, including 13.3 GW of solar. More solar tends to compress midday prices, and more storage helps flatten evening peaks. Neither eliminates winter or extreme-weather volatility, but both should moderate the daytime average through 2027.

TDU delivery charges you cannot lock away

Here is the part homeowners often miss. The energy portion of your bill is what a fixed-rate plan locks. The TDU delivery charges from Oncor, CenterPoint, AEP Texas, or TNMP are separate, and they change on their own regulatory schedule. Locking a fixed energy rate protects the biggest, most volatile line on the bill, but it does not freeze every line. Our breakdown of TDU delivery charges shows how the wires side of your bill is set separately from the energy side.

The August 2026 lock-in decision framework

Walk your household through these five filters before you sign anything.

1. Bill certainty first. If you would rather know your rate for the next 12 to 24 months than try to time a market bottom, a fixed rate is the correct choice regardless of where the curve is.
2. Usage size. Larger homes with winter heating loads have more to lose from a February variable-rate spike, and the bigger your usage the more insurance a fixed rate buys you.
3. Contract-term appetite. A 12 or 24-month fixed plan captures winter risk without committing you to a 36-month curve that is already priced higher, so longer is not automatically better.
4. Winter risk tolerance. If a single-month bill three times your normal would be a real problem for your household budget, a variable plan is not the right instrument for you right now.
5. EFL fit. Compare the Electricity Facts Label at the usage level you actually consume, because a low-headline plan is often designed around 1,000 kWh and your true cost at 500 or 2,000 kWh can be very different.

If four of five filters point to lock, lock. If two or fewer point to lock, stay put and revisit in October, before the first cold front.

What happens if you wait?

Waiting is a defensible strategy for households that use less power, have flexible budgets, and can move quickly if the market shifts. The August 2026 STEO trend of slightly lower gas prices means the downside case for waiting is real, not fantasy. But two things narrow that upside. Retailers reprice fixed plans continuously, so a small drop in the wholesale curve rarely translates into a huge drop in the retail rate you actually see. And waiting exposes you to the winter shoulder, which is where most Texas rate regret lives.

There is also a version of waiting that is really procrastination. Month-to-month customers on a holdover product typically pay the highest rate on the page. Nearly $480 a year in overpayments shows up when Texas households let a fixed term roll off without shopping the market. If your current plan already expired, waiting is not neutral. It is expensive.

Frequently asked questions

Should I lock in a fixed-rate electricity plan in August 2026?

Yes, if your priority is bill certainty and you are comfortable with a 12 to 24-month term. The forward curve for winter 2026-2027 is not extreme, but it is up, and locking removes the biggest variable on your bill.

Is a variable-rate plan actually cheaper right now?

Sometimes, for a month or two during mild weather. A variable rate has no cap and no notice period, so a mild fall can flip to a cold-front spike with no cushion for your household.

How much do fixed rates in Texas cost this August?

Fixed rates run roughly 6.0 to 11.8 cents per kWh on 12-month plans, 6.8 to 7.6 cents on 24-month plans, and 13.1 to 14.0 cents on 36-month plans, per Power to Choose listings as of August 2026. Your ZIP code and usage level make a real difference to the number you actually pay.

What does the ERCOT forward price curve say about winter 2026-2027?

The winter curve is priced above the summer curve right now, reflecting expected load growth, LNG-driven gas demand, and the reserve-margin picture ERCOT laid out in its April 2026 long-term forecast.

Will winter 2026-2027 be more expensive than summer 2026?

The forward market is priced that way today, though a mild winter can pull the realized price back. Under EIA's high-demand scenario, 2027 ERCOT wholesale prices could rise about 78.9% versus a $47.39 per MWh baseline.

How much can a variable-rate plan change from month to month in Texas?

There is no regulatory cap on how much a variable rate can move between billing cycles in the deregulated Texas market. During a cold snap, wholesale prices can multiply several times over, and a variable retail plan passes that entire move through to your bill with no cushion.

Should I choose a shorter fixed term now, or lock in a longer one?

For most Texas households, a 12 or 24-month fixed term is the sweet spot. Longer 36-month terms tend to carry a premium because they push you further out the forward curve, which is priced higher for later years.

Ready to compare Ambit plans?

Ambit Energy has served Texas households since 2006 and lists every plan's cents-per-kWh at 500, 1,000, and 2,000 kWh on its Electricity Facts Label. Enter your ZIP code, review the plan detail and the EFL, and choose the term length that matches your risk tolerance and household usage.

Plan details and rates subject to change. Energy facts label available on every plan. Subject to credit approval. Rates and offers referenced here are as of August 2026. Ambit also offers a home-based business opportunity through independent Consultants. Earnings vary by Consultant and are not guaranteed. Statement of Independent Contractor and full income disclosure available at ambitenergy.com.