TXU is the company that popularized Free Nights and other time of day electricity plans in Texas. Now the electric company that brought you Free Nights and Solar Days has introduced a plan called the TXU Energy Free Pass 12 Plan.
Note: Texas electricity rates change often. The rates referenced in this review are as of July 2020. To compare current TXU rates with other electric companies, enter your zip code at the top of this page.
How does the TXU Free Pass Plan work?
The plan is fairly simple. For each billing period, TXU takes your 7 highest electricity usage days and subtracts those days from your bill. For those days you are charged a 0¢/kWh energy charge and the typical pass through fees associated with Oncor or your local distribution utility are waived.
What is the KWh charge on the TXU Free Pass plan?
In the Oncor service area which includes, Dallas and Fort Worth, the energy charge is 15.7¢/kWh. In addition to that, you will pay the Oncor passthrough fee of 3.577¢/kWh. This brings the total electricity rate to 19.3¢/kWh for the days you pay for.
If you used exactly the same amount of electricity every day of a 30 day billing cycle, your 7 free days would account for 23.3% of your total electricity usage.
TXU publishes an average electricity rate of 13.9¢/kWh for 1000 kWh of usage in the Oncor delivery area. To arrive at this number, they assume that 33.1% of your electricity usage occurs during your 7 free days.
Every household is different. Its hard to predict exactly what your final average electricity rate would be.
The table below shows TXU’s published 1000 kWh average electricity rate for each delivery area including the 7 free days. It also includes the energy charge plus TDU pass through charge for the non-free days of the plan.
| City (TDU) | 1000 kWh Average Rate | Non-Free Day Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas (Oncor) | 13.9¢/kWh | 19.3¢/kWh |
| Houston (Centerpoint) | 14.9¢/kWh | 20.9¢/kWh |
| Lewisville (TNMP) | 14.9¢/kWh | 19.9¢/kWh |
| Abiliene (AEPN) | 13.9¢/kWh | 19.1¢/kWh |
| Victoria (AEPC) | 14.3¢/kWh | 19.8¢/kWh |
Is the TXU Free Pass plan a good deal?
The challenge for consumers is to shift their electricity usage habits to take advantage of the free periods. With Free nights or mornings plans, consumers can change when they do their laundry or wash their dishes. They can change their pool timers or do other things to plan their daily electricity-intensive chores at the right time.
It’s a little more difficult, however, to shift electricity usage to specific days of the month. Summer is approaching in Texas which means A/Cs are about to be running all day every day. You can’t just shove all of your air conditioning into 7 days of the month.
For most consumers, this plan would act somewhat like a free weekends plan. If you work during the week, you should be adjusting your thermostat to use less electricity to cool your home during the days when you are working. On the weekend, when you are more likely to be home, you probably want to keep the thermostat at a more comfortable temperature. You’re also more likely to do energy intensive household chores like laundry during the weekend. This adds together to make the weekends likely your highest electricity usage days.
What else do I need to know about the Free Pass plan?
- The plan comes with a 12 month contract commitment
- The cancelation fee is $150
- It has a base charge of $9.95 per month plus a pass through base charge from your TDU of between $3.42 and $10.53 depending on where you live.
- The plan has a renewable energy content of 6%
See Also: TXU AutoSaver Plan
Filed under: TXU Free Pass Plan Review