centerpoint Archives - Texas Power Guide

November 1, 2018July 6, 2023

Reliant “Texas Bonus 24” Plan Review

Reliant Secure 24 plan $600 bonus teaser — How much does a “$600 bonus” cost? A lot more than $600…

We regularly receive flyers for Reliant’s “Texas Bonus 24” electric plan with all the warning signs: “Get a low price”, $600 bonus”, and of course “Limited time offer”. They’ll even offer to discount your current provider’s cancellation fee so you can “take advantage of this deal”.

Curiously, there’s no mention of electricity pricing. You have to call them to learn those details, using the promo code from your flyer.

Once you do you’ll see that this plan is no deal. At 10.2 ¢/kWh (…as of November 2018, see below for updates), the “energy charge” is 4.9 ¢/kWh more than the lowest cost competitor. For the average Houston home, that means paying an extra $1372 to get a $600 rebate, which is a “bonus” for nobody except Reliant. Those with higher usage can expect to overpay even more. And if you sign up and then realize you’ve made a mistake, you’ll incur a whopping $295 cancellation fee.

Don’t fall for high rates masked by cash-back gimmicks. All electricity is the same, and many competitors — and even other Reliant plans — offer much better rates. To start saving today, skip the runaround and click below to find your best rate.

Find Your Best Plan »

October 2020 update:
Another month, another ludicrous “Texas Bonus 24” offer. The latest (via promo code MC9UBK) costs 9.1326 ¢/kWh plus ~4.5 ¢/kWh for Centerpoint delivery. With competitive rates at ~4.9 ¢/kWh plus delivery, you should run — not walk — away from this offer.

July 2023 update:
With promo code MH1BA5, the plan costs 11.9972 ¢/kWh (energy-only) plus Centerpoint delivery. That equates to ~15.9 ¢/kWh for 2000 kWh/mo usage, vs. ~10.5 ¢/kWh for more competitive alternatives.

Did you receive an even newer version? Send it to us and we’ll help check it out.

* Notes: Calculations above are based on the plan EFLs posted on Reliant.com and competitor sites as of 11/1/2018, and assume the 2016 average Texas monthly residential load profile from EIA scaled linearly to each target monthly usage. Cost projections exclude taxes and non-recurring fees.

May 14, 2018September 27, 2023

Gexa “BOGO 12” Plan Review

buy one get one bad deal — Gexa’s “BOGO 12” plan masks a high rate with a “50% off” pitch. Don’t do it.

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 *
	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.

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* 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.

February 1, 2018May 7, 2018

Reliant “Speak & Save 24” Plan Review

smart programmable thermostat — Want a smart thermostat and speaker for your home? Buy them yourself and save.

Another day, another commercial touting a new electricity plan gimmick. This time it’s Reliant’s “Speak & Save 24” plan, which includes a Nest Thermostat E and a Google Home smart speaker. Both of these devices are great, but there’s no such thing as a free lunch. Let’s compare how much you’ll pay for this Reliant plan versus low-cost competitors for three different-sized homes:

2-Year Electricity Costs (DFW/Oncor area) *
	Avg monthly usage (kWh)
	500	1000	2000
Reliant “Speak & Save 24 plan”	$1,320	$2,554	$5,026
Low-cost competitor 24-month plan	$1,016	$1,836	$3,786
Difference	$304	$718	$1,240

Any way we look at it, “Speak & Save 24” is overpriced. Dallas customers who wait “up to 8 weeks for delivery” and pay an extra $304 to $1,240 (or more) for electricity get two devices that retail for only $298. Houstonians get dinged for another ~$140. And breaking the 24-month contract costs $295.

Not to slight the devices themselves. If you don’t have a programmable thermostat, you should buy one ASAP for the obvious energy and cost savings. Air-conditioners and electric heaters are notorious power hogs, so the less you can run them each day, the better. The Nest and Google Assistant — using Home or your smartphone — make it easy with simple, voice-based controls. And to Reliant’s credit, they’re the first retailer to offer Assistant-based account management, whether or not you sign up for this plan.

Just don’t let fancy gadgets blind you to budget-busting electric rates. In this case, there are much cheaper options from other retailers and even Reliant itself. To find the best plan for your home, click below and let our RateGrinder tool do the hard work for you.

Try RateGrinder »

* Notes: Calculations are based on the plan EFLs posted on Reliant.com and competitor sites as of 1/31/2018, and assume the 2016 average Texas monthly residential load profile from EIA scaled linearly to each target monthly usage. Cost projections exclude taxes and non-recurring fees.

Prior to January, Reliant offered a 12-month version of this plan with the Nest E and Google Home Mini. The current offering is 24 months and includes the standard Google Home.

January 31, 2018October 27, 2020

Reliant “Secure 24” Plan Review

Today we received a mail offer for Reliant’s “Secure 24” electric plan with all the warning signs: “Get a low price”, $600 bonus”, and of course “Limited time offer”. They’ll even cover your current provider’s cancellation fee (up to $300) so you can “take advantage of this deal”. No mention of actual electricity pricing, though, so we followed the link to check it out.

The key number is the “energy charge”. At 7.6 ¢/kWh, it’s nearly double some low-cost competitors. Including the TDU delivery charges, you’ll pay upwards of 12.5 ¢/kW. This is not a competitive rate. But there’s the $600 bonus to consider, so let’s do the math for 3 average electricity usage cases:

2-Year Electricity Costs (Houston/Centerpoint area) *
	Avg monthly usage (kWh)
	500	1000	2000
Reliant “Secure 24” plan	$1,596	$3,056	$5,964
Low-cost competitor 24-month plan	$768	$2,238	$4,262
Difference	$828	$818	$1,722

Clearly this plan is overpriced for nearly any household, but especially for those with higher electricity usage. Even after the $600 “bonus” it costs $218 to $1122 more than competitors. If you sign up and then decide you’ve made a mistake, you’ll incur a $295 cancellation fee.

Those in the DFW/Oncor service area with very low usage may be able to break even, depending on your shopping skills. But likely not once you consider 12-month or shorter alternatives, which tend to be cheaper. Also this offer “is nontransferable to another person, household, or address”, so Reliant’s Marketing department might only offer it to residences with higher consumption.

In any case, don’t fall for Secure 24’s high rates masked by cash-back gimmicks. Electricity is just electricity, and many competitors — and even other Reliant plans — offer much better deals. Skip the runaround and click below to let Texas Power Guide’s RateGrinder calculator help you find your best plan quickly and easily.

Try RateGrinder »

April 2018 update:
Another month, another “Secure 24” offer. The latest flyer ditches the URL to encourage you to call for details, but you can still find them here with the promo code. Since January, rates for Secure 24 and the best competitor plans have both risen by about 1 ¢/kWh, so our guidance hasn’t changed.

September 2018 update (Now with airline miles!):
In the latest iteration, Reliant adds another layer of obfuscation by rebating you with Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards miles instead of real money. The math, however, is similar. At 12.7 ¢/kWh for a Dallas customer using 1000 kWh/month, this plan costs $768 more than competitors. The 27,000 airline points are worth ~$405, so you’d be overpaying by $363 (…or more if you live in Houston or use more electricity). And rates are still falling from their June peak, so now is not a good time to lock into a long-term 24-month contract.

November 2018 update:
Reliant changed the name of this plan to ‘Texas Bonus 24’, but it’s still the same overpriced plan as always. For details, see here.

Did you receive an even newer version of this offer? Send it to us and we’ll gladly help check it out.