Are free nights electricity plans worth it in Texas?

By the BillAnswers team · Updated November 3, 2026 · How we check facts

Only if you use a large share of your power in the free hours. Free nights and free weekends plans are time-of-use plans: energy is free or discounted in set hours and billed at the plan's regular energy charge in the other hours. Their EFL average prices assume the provider's own estimate of how much you use in the free hours, so the plan only pays off if your real share of usage in those hours is at least that high.

How these plans work

A free nights or free weekends plan is what Power to Choose, the PUCT's shopping site, calls a time-of-use plan: it gives you an incentive to use power during certain periods, such as nights or weekends. The energy charge in those hours is free or discounted. In the other hours, which Power to Choose calls non-free or premium hours, you pay the plan's regular energy charge, and that charge is the number to compare with ordinary plans.

The key detail is how the advertised price is built. Power to Choose explains that the average prices for time-of-use plans, both on the plan's Electricity Facts Label (EFL) and on its own website, are based on the provider's estimate of what percentage of your energy falls in the free or discounted hours. Those estimates and the hours themselves vary from provider to provider and from plan to plan. If your real share is lower than the provider's estimate, your average price will be higher than the EFL shows. Power to Choose puts it plainly: if you do not shift your usage, your bill may actually increase.

So the question is not whether free nights plans are good or bad in general. It is whether your household uses enough power in that plan's free hours.

How many plans like this are listed

On November 3, 2026, the official Power to Choose plan list showed 47 time-of-use plans among 945 plans in total, and 67 plans flagged for minimum-usage fees or bill credits (our count of the Power to Choose export; each plan listed once).

What the EFL must show

Every plan has its own EFL (16 TAC 25.475(g)). For a free nights or free weekends plan, read these parts closely:

• Average price at 500, 1,000 and 2,000 kWh. Required for every residential plan (16 TAC 25.475(g)(2)(C)). For a time-of-use plan, these averages rest on the provider's usage-split estimate.
• On-peak and off-peak lines. The official EFL format includes, where applicable, the on-peak season or time, the average on-peak price per kWh and the average off-peak price per kWh (16 TAC 25.475(g)(6)). This tells you exactly which hours are discounted and what the other hours cost.
• Fixed rate or variable price. The EFL must say which one it is (16 TAC 25.475(g)(2)). For homes, a variable price plan can only be month-to-month (16 TAC 25.475(b)(11)).
• Contract term and termination fee. The EFL must disclose the term and any early termination penalty (16 TAC 25.475(g)(4)).
• All provider fees. The EFL must list every fee the provider may charge (16 TAC 25.475(g)(3)(B)). Some plans charge a fee if you use less than a set minimum (Power to Choose FAQ).

Also check how delivery charges apply during the free hours. Delivery charges come from your wires company, not the provider, so read the EFL and the terms of service to see whether the free hours cover only the energy charge.

How to test a plan against your own usage

You need one number: the share of your monthly kWh that falls inside the plan's free hours.

1. Get your usage by hour. Smart meters record usage in 15-minute intervals (PUCT). Ask your current provider for your interval usage, and add up the kWh that land inside the plan's free hours for a full month.
2. If you only have monthly totals, you cannot measure the split. Instead, try a range, for example 20%, 30% and 40% of usage in free hours, and see where the plan stops winning.
3. Open the true-cost calculator. Enter your total monthly kWh as usage.
4. For the energy charge, enter the plan's paid-hours energy charge multiplied by your share of usage in paid hours. Example: a 20 cent charge and 60% of usage in paid hours means 12 cents.
5. Enter the base charge and delivery charges exactly as the EFL lists them. This method assumes delivery is billed on all your kWh; if the EFL says otherwise, adjust.
6. In the other columns, enter one or two ordinary plans and compare the true prices.

Run it for a summer month and a winter month. If you run air conditioning mostly in the afternoon, that usage falls outside nighttime free hours, so your split can change by season.

A worked example (made-up numbers)

Both plans below use 1,000 kWh a month with the same delivery charge (5 cents per kWh plus $4 a month) and a $5 base charge.

In this example, the free nights plan wins only if at least 35% of your usage falls in the free hours. Below that, the flat plan is cheaper. Your break-even point will be different; the calculator finds it in a few tries.

Questions to settle before you sign

• Which exact hours and days are free, and does that change by season?
• What is the energy charge in the paid hours, and is the plan fixed rate or variable?
• What share of usage did the provider assume for the EFL averages? Ask; Power to Choose suggests contacting the provider to decide whether a time-of-use plan fits your usage.
• Is there a termination fee if the plan does not work out for you?

For a full walk through the label, see how to read an Electricity Facts Label.

Last updated: November 3, 2026