Looking at Electric Plan Options in Texas
We live in Midland, TX where we have (on average) very good annual solar weather. Our system is all Enphase, 15.2 kW (STC) solar, and 40 kWh battery. For the past 26 months we have been on the JUST Energy Free Nights plan. For that entire period, we have paid zero dollars per month on our electric bill, and have accumulated a fairly large carry-over credit account. Our plan runs out in 10 months (April 2027) so I am now starting to look ahead to our possible choices when it comes time to renew.
I keep an eye on the market, and I check the https://www.texaspowerguide.com/solar-buyback-plans-texas/ on a regular basis. I know that JUST Energy is no longer allowing customers with solar and/or batteries to sign up for (or renew) the free nights plan, so unless that changes I will eventually need to move to another REP.
I know the current “popular” opinion seems to be that the Direct Energy free nights plan is the best current option for those with batteries and/or solar. As I see it, one disadvantage to that plan, and to the other currently available “free nights” plans, is that they have some fixed fees that cannot be covered by any credits. If you manage to get some credits on your account, such as for signing up, or for referring another new customer, you cannot achieve a “zero dollars due” electric bill. Even if the “fixed” monthly fees are only 10-15 dollars or so, it still kinda irritates me to have to pay them. Yes - I know all the arguments about how we all have to help pay for the electric grid infrastructure, etc.
So I am looking at other possible plans that MIGHT make it possible to reach the coveted “zero dollars due” electric bill. I went to the Texas Power Guide, looked at buyback plans for the ONCOR area, and ordered them by “Lowest Base Charge per Month”. Then I looked for plans without any “fine print” over in the right-hand column. One REP jumps out at me: Champion Energy. If I follow the link to their web page and input my ZIP (79707) I see three available plans, all of which look like VERY promising candidates. All 3 plans feature a relatively low energy charge (plus, of course, TDU fees), NO monthly fixed fees or minimum usage requirement, and “no hassle” solar buyback. The buyback rate is only variable RTW (Real Time Wholesale) so most of the time it will be a very low rate per kWh, but at least you have a chance to earn SOME amount of credit each month.
https://championenergyservices.com/Residential/Sign-Up?
One of the Champion plans, the EV Saver-12, has another selling point IMO: the already low electric rate is slightly reduced at night from 10pm to 4am. The idea is to allow electric car owners to charge their car at night at a lower electric rate. Since we have a BEV we should be eligible for this plan.
To figure out how our PV system might work on the Champion plan, I ran a little experiment. I turned off the switch in the Enlighten app that allows battery charging from grid power. I set our system on Self Consumption, and let it run for a couple days. The graph above shows the result. Starting with full batteries in the middle of one day, we ran on solar until sundown, then started running on battery. By midnight, our batteries were down to 54%, which is the start of the graph. By morning (with our battery reserve set at 10%) we got down to a low of 13%, where the solar was starting to cover consumption. After that, we ran on solar, and excess production was used to recharge our batteries. By 4:30pm our batteries were back to 100%, and we started exporting to grid. About 7pm we started running off battery, and by midnight we’re down to 56%, where the graph ends.
The day in the graph (June 24) was in the middle of a HOT spell in TX. Daily highs were over 100F, and night time lows only about 75F. Our 4-ton heat pump is working hard on those days keeping us cool, plus we have a 40’ motorhome parked in our driveway plugged into a 50A outlet tied to our house main panel. We keep the RV cooled on hot days to protect the contents. It has two 15K BTU rooftop air conditioners that run during the day, so that’s another big draw on our electric system. In other words, the day in the graph was a worst case scenario for summer energy consumption in our house. It looks to me like we could go most days of the year, barring any bad weather stretches, without having to draw much if any power off the grid. On the “bad” solar days we might use a little grid power, but the cost per kWh would be relatively low. On the really good days (mild weather) we could export a good amount of excess production, for which we could possibly earn some small amount of credit.
I’m thinking that for OUR situation, the Champion buyback plan (or a similar plan) might be better than the Direct free night plan. Of course, this is all theoretical for now, cuz we’re not dropping our JUST Energy plan until we are forced off it. Looking for any input from smarter people than me (I set a low bar). Does my analysis make sense? Thanx in advance!