Gexa Energy has been touting their “BOGO 12” buy one / get one plan. This plan promises you’ll “only pay for 50% of your energy charges, every month”.
As you might expect, there are two obvious catches. First, the undiscounted energy-only charges are a sky-high 14.9¢/kWh for Centerpoint-area customers. Even after the 50% “discount”, 7.45 ¢/kWh is still 60% higher than some competitors. Second, the BOGO discount does not apply to Gexa’s $9.95\mo minimum usage charge, or to Centerpoint’s delivery charges, currently $5.47/mo + 4.11 ¢/kWh.
All together, the plan costs a hefty 11.8 – 14.6 ¢/kWh, depending on your usage. By law, Gexa discloses these average costs in their Electricity Facts Label, which you should always read. EFL reference prices already include discounts like BOGO, so don’t expect to take another half off. Instead, just say no.
But perhaps Gexa has designs beyond BOGO… When you visit their website, they reveal two other plans claiming a seemingly lower 7.9 ¢/kWh rate. Looks great, right? Wrong. As usual, these teaser rates only apply at exactly 500 or 1000 kWh/mo. If you use any more or less in a given month — which you will — your rate increases dramatically. For their “Supreme Plus 12”, using 999 kWh instead of 1000 more than doubles your bill!
| 12-month Electricity Costs Houston Home Averaging 1000 kWh/mo * |
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| Avg Rate | Cost | Premium | |
| Gexa “BOGO” | 12.7 ¢/kWh | $1,522 | +$383 |
| Gexa “Basic Plus 12” | 14.4 ¢/kWh | $1,724 | + $585 |
| Gexa “Supreme Plus 12” | 13.2 ¢/kWh | $1,586 | + $447 |
| Low cost competitor | 9.5 ¢/kWh | $1,139 | — |
Compared to a competitive plan, these Gexa options would cost an extra $383 to $585 per year. Always be cautious of heavily-advertised gimmicks like BOGO, Free Nights/Weekends, free thermostats, etc. You must do the math — such as with our RateGrinder tool — to avoid a costly $585 mistake.
After all, there’s no reason to pay more for the same electricity. It all comes from the same sources across the same wires. If there’s an outage, your delivery utility (not Gexa or any other retailer) is who you call for help.
Next, click below to jump to our home page and let Texas Power Guide find the true lowest rate for your home’s usage profile.
* Notes: Calculations are based on the plan EFLs posted on GexaEnergy.com and competitor sites as of 5/11/2018, and assume the 2016 average Texas monthly residential load profile from EIA scaled linearly to a 1000 kWh/month average. Cost projections exclude taxes and non-recurring fees.