Long story short I haven’t shopped for power in a few years and didn’t realize how easy it is to change plans when you’re paying month-to-month.My usage was around 5k kWh (old spread out house with poor insulation). My average was over 25 cents per kWh! I look on power to choose and most plans are 10-15 cents! If I change to one of those plans, is that all I would pay or are those rates only that cheap if you use less than a certain amount ?

I’ve seen a lot of conversations lately about rising electricity rates, Texas grid reliability, and how much more electricity we’re all going to be using in the coming years.

I wanted to share my experience because, after months of research, I finally found a setup that has completely changed the way I think about my home’s electricity.

I have a 2-story, 2,153 sq. ft. all-electric home with 2 EVs.

Before solar, my electric bill averaged around $420/month, climbing to roughly $500–$550 during the summer.

And with electricity rates continuing to rise, I started asking myself:

Why keep paying more for electricity when I could generate and store a significant portion of my own power?

So I started researching solar, battery storage, and different electricity plans.

After months of comparing systems, providers, equipment and financing options, I finally pulled the trigger.

And honestly?

It has completely changed the game.

☀️ My System

• 29 Meyer Burger 390W solar panels
• 15 panels facing east
• 14 panels facing west

• 4 Tesla Powerwalls
• 54 kWh of total storage

• 1 SPAN smart electrical panel

The east/west panel layout was intentional. Instead of concentrating all my production around midday, the system gives me a broader production curve—more generation in the morning and more in the afternoon.

The Powerwalls are the other major piece of the puzzle.

During the day, my solar production powers the house and charges the batteries with excess energy.

Then, when the sun goes down, I have stored energy available when I need it.

And when the grid goes down?

I have my own backup power sitting in the garage.

That peace of mind was honestly one of the biggest reasons I made the investment.

Texas heat. Winter freezes. Spring storms. Grid interruptions.

I don’t want my family’s comfort to depend entirely on whether the grid happens to be having a good day.

🔋 But here’s where it gets REALLY interesting…

I didn’t just install solar and call it a day.

I also spent a lot of time researching how to use the system strategically.

My household uses roughly 1,900–2,100 kWh per month, largely because we have two EVs and an all-electric home.

The goal wasn’t simply:

“Generate solar and hope it lowers my bill.”

The goal was to create an entire energy strategy around solar + batteries + EV charging + time-of-use electricity pricing.

My system went live, and I’ve been extremely happy with how it has performed.

On my July 2026 bill, for example:

Total usage: 2,041 kWh
Free-night usage: 2,048 kWh
Current account balance: -$441.88

Yes, that’s a negative balance.

Instead of watching my electric bill climb every summer, I’ve watched my account build credits.

⚡ My Energy Strategy

DAYTIME ☀️

Solar powers the house.

Excess solar charges the Powerwalls.

NIGHTTIME 🌙

I shift as much consumption as possible into the lower-cost/free period.

That includes charging both EVs and, when appropriate, replenishing battery storage.

OUTAGES ⛈️

The Powerwalls take over and keep the home operating.

And the SPAN panel gives me much more visibility and control over where the energy is going.

That’s the part I really like about this setup.

It’s not just solar panels on the roof.

It’s an energy management system for the entire house.

🏠 Installation

From start to finish, the installation took 3 full days.

I spent months researching installers before making a decision, and I ultimately chose a highly rated Texas company that impressed me from system design and engineering through project management and installation.

The workmanship was excellent, communication was solid, and the finished system looks and performs exactly the way I hoped it would.

Good Faith Energy has completed thousands of Texas solar installations and more than 2,500 Powerwall installations, which was one of the things that gave me confidence in choosing an experienced installer. (Good Faith Energy)
They did an incredible job from system design to engineering to project management and installation.

So, was it worth it?

For me?

Absolutely.

I’m not saying solar + batteries are automatically the right answer for every homeowner.

Everyone’s roof, electricity usage, utility plan, financing, tax situation and goals are different.

But if you’re a Texas homeowner with a high electric bill, multiple EVs, an all-electric home, or concerns about grid reliability…

I would seriously investigate it.

I wish I had done it sooner.

If you’ve been curious about what solar + battery storage would actually look like on your specific home, you can request a free, no-pressure consultation.

They can look at your roof, electricity usage and goals and show you what a system could potentially look like.

And if you’re on the fence, feel free to ask me questions.

I’m happy to share what I’ve learned, what I would do differently, and what my monthly energy numbers actually look like.

I spent months researching this before making the decision. Hopefully sharing my experience saves someone else a few months of research.

Share providers in the comments and I will update the post body.

Hello fellow Texans! Today I took a bit a different approach to the Google sheets file.

I've created individual files per TDU region, and split the plans by term length.

This way you don't have to deal with plans that aren't outside of your region, and you can go straight to the term length that makes the most sense for your life.

As always, I downloaded all available plans from PowerToChoose.org, then filtered to remove the following:

• Spanish duplicates
• Variable rates
• Prepaid plans
• Time-of-use
• Minimum usage fees
• Tiered rates
• Bill credits
• Base charges
• Credit card processing fees
• Autopay failure charges
• I also removed Energy Texas because they are offering the same exact plans/prices as Rhythm, just with different names.

This summer has been an anomaly in that prices just keep dropping now is a great time to sign up for a new plan.

These are the term lengths that set you up for success with a spring or fall renewal: 3, 9, 14, or 15 month plans.

Spring and fall typically have the best rates.

And without further ado... here are the files:

• Oncor: Dallas, Fort Worth, Waco, Temple, Round Rock, Midland, Odessa
• CenterPoint: Houston
• Texas-New Mexico Power: League City, Glen Rose, Pecos, Angleton
• AEP Texas Central: Corpus Christi, McAllen, Victoria, Laredo, Harlingen
• AEP Texas North: Abilene, San Angelo, Vernon
• Lubbock Power & Light: Lubbock

Let me know if you've got any questions!

I am guessing that all the providers move you to an expensive month to month plan when your initial contract expires. I noticed my bill has been quite high despite using less than 1000 kwh, so I started looking at prices in the bill.

It seems many providers are offering rates at HALF of what I am paying. I tried to switch by calling one of them and was shocked that they want my SSN, a picture of myself, and a picture of my government ID, to send to third party private company Persona, who has been all over the news about things I won't even get into.

I've been an existing electricity customer for 8 years at this location with my past provider. I understand they want to prevent fraud. I am happy to send them my past bills, bills with my name and address on it, etc. I have an existing ESID as well.

However, I really take issue having to hand over all my sensitive personal data to every company I want to do business with now, who in turn admit they are handing it over to a bunch of private companies to sit in their databases for who knows how long, then immediately be presented with terms and conditions that say they are not liable for nearly anything at all, and a forced arbitration agreement.

I guess I am stuck with this provider forever.... or until laws change protecting our personal information from being traded back and forth to private companies, if that ever happens?

Has anyone changed providers recently to someone accredited by the BBB without having to hand over SSN, government id, and selfy pictures or are we at the point now that we can't even perform basic transactions for essential services anymore without putting our sensitive personal data at risk with no recourse?

This comes up here a lot — someone's mid-contract, sees better rates, and asks whether it's worth paying the ETF to get out. Often you don't have to pay it at all.

Under PUCT §25.475(e)(2)(C)(ii), you can switch penalty-free starting 14 days before the contract expiration date shown on your notice. Your provider is also required to send that notice at least 30 days ahead of time. Rule text here. (https://ftp.puc.texas.gov/public/puct-info/agency/rulesnlaws/subrules/electric/25.475/25.475.pdf)

Two things that trip people up:

- The window runs off the date on the notice, not your memory of when you signed. Go find the notice in your email.

- Missing the window doesn't cost you a fee — it drops you onto a month-to-month variable rate, which usually costs more than the fee would have. That's the real penalty for not watching the date.

So if you're within a couple of months of expiry, the answer is normally "wait and set a reminder," not "pay $295 to leave now." Further out than that it can genuinely flip the other way, and it's worth running the numbers rather than guessing.

Found out the hard way that some Texas electricity plans pay a bill credit only if you cross a specific usage threshold — miss it by even a little and you get nothing, not a partial credit.

My plan pays $100 back if I hit 1,000 kWh for the cycle. Last billing period I used 993. Seven kWh short — less than running the AC for half an hour — and the whole $100 was gone.

The annoying part is there was no warning. My provider's app just shows total usage, not how close I am to my specific threshold, and by the time the bill lands it's too late to do anything about it.

I ended up building a small free tool for myself to track this against my own Smart Meter Texas data so I never miss it again — not affiliated with any provider, doesn't make money off enrollments or plan switches, just a usage tracker. Happy to share the link if anyone wants it, but mostly curious — anyone else on a bill-credit plan gotten burned by this?

https://preview.redd.it/25xqu0p60mih1.png?width=1085&format=png&auto=webp&s=5dc0540a044d057e180cc8be9d2917c1fad3f51d

Rates have decreased some over the past few months. Now would be a good time to consider switching plans while incorporating a cost analysis that includes any early termination fees that exist with your current energy plan.

I am with Budget Power, usual usage is 800-1000 KWH. Rates below are for 1000KWH.

The offers are 11.2¢ for 1 year or 12.2¢ for 2 years. Which is the better approach (I will be in this apartment for atleast another 2 years.

I currently have 1 yr left on a 36 month contract @16.9 kWh. I tried to switch to another Reliant plan now they are lower and they want me to pay $400 cancellation fee. Suggestions? I may pay it and leave. Such BS.

If you are up for renewal, lock in today's drop. Its bit unusual for this time of the year for the rates to drop but a relief to see rates dropping.

Apologies if this has been asked before but if I enroll with a new company do I have to directly cancel the old one?

I would like to share that Clear Energy Facts has recently created a new tool to help you evaluate free-weekend electricity plans.

https://clearenergyfacts.com/en/tools/free-weekends-calculator

With this tool, you can compare free-weekend plans against competitive true fixed-rate plans currently available in the market.

This tool complements the free-night calculator that was already available for evaluating free-night plans.

Keep in mind that, in order for these tools to use your real electricity consumption data, you need to upload your Smart Meter Texas report. I recommend using the tool at least one month before you are thinking about switching to one of these types of plans. This gives you some time to adjust your electricity usage toward the free window and monitor whether you would actually save money or not.

In addition, I also improved the analysis in the free-night calculator. The results are now more visually appealing and clearly show how far your free-period usage is below or above the level needed to save money, making it easier to see whether you may be overpaying or actually saving.

Any feedback, questions, or problems you encounter, let me know.

https://preview.redd.it/prsbu6snddih1.png?width=1220&format=png&auto=webp&s=e4d54fa58c950cd4c420752492413e9fcabaefe6

Hello,

Can someone please share the $50 off code for BXU Energy electricity?

Thanks in advance.