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.
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.
* 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.