Are bill credit electricity plans worth it in Texas?

A bill credit plan takes money off your bill, often $125, in any month your usage reaches its line. Fall short of the line, and you pay full price for every kWh.

Here’s a real one. APG&E’s SimpleSaver 11 plan, sold in Oncor’s Dallas–Fort Worth area, charges 11.727¢ per kWh for energy. It has no monthly base charge. Its fact label is dated October 5, 2026. The label lists a “$125 credit when usage is >= 1,000 kWh in a billing cycle,” so exactly 1,000 kWh counts. The >= sign means “equal to or more than.”

The line changes from plan to plan. Gexa Energy’s own plan page lists usage credits that start at 500, 1,000 or 2,000 kWh.

Why the label price looks so low. A Texas rule sets how fact labels show prices (16 TAC §25.475). Each label must show the average price at exactly 500, 1,000 and 2,000 kWh a month, with all regular charges counted. Every label we checked also takes the credit off at the usage levels that qualify. That’s how a plan can show 6.5¢ at 1,000 kWh.

At 500 kWh, there’s no credit, so the price is 19.4¢. At exactly 1,000 kWh, the $125 comes off, and the price drops to 6.5¢. At 2,000 kWh, the same $125 is spread over twice the kWh. So it helps half as much, and the price is 12.5¢.

Next: what 1 kWh can cost you →

Miss the line by even 1 kWh, and you lose the whole credit. On APG&E’s SimpleSaver 11, a 999 kWh month costs $189.81 before taxes, but a 1,000 kWh month costs $65.00.

That drop is the cliff, the trap to watch for in any bill credit plan. The credit is all or nothing, and none of the labels we checked gives a partial credit for coming close. TXU’s own guide to bill credit plans says that if you fall short, “the bill credit will not apply for that month.”

And most homes don’t use the same amount every month. Heating and air conditioning made up 52% of U.S. household energy use in 2020. The EIA calls them “mostly seasonal” uses. So a home that clears 1,000 kWh in July can land well under it in April. See what a normal Texas bill looks like.

If a bill ever jumps for no clear reason, a missed credit is one thing to check. Our guide to why a bill is high covers the others.

Both push the same way: low-use months cost more. On that Direct Energy plan, using 1,001 kWh instead of 1,000 lowers the bill by $9.78, because the fee stops. Plans with no credit and no usage fee are worth a look, too.

Next: price your own 12 months →

A bill credit plan saves money over a year only if you reach its line in enough months. Our sample average home in Oncor’s area would get the credit in 7 of 12 months. That saves $559.99 over 12 months, compared with a plain plan.

Pick your utility, then start with a sample year or type in your own 12 months. Add the two plans you’re comparing. The calculator flags every month that misses the credit.

The more months you reach the line, the lower your real price. In our four sample homes, the plan labeled 6.5¢ at 1,000 kWh works out to between 11.0¢ and 19.3¢ per kWh.

Look at the middle column. Discount Power’s Bill Credit Bundle 24 is labeled 10.8¢ at 1,000 kWh. For our average home, it would cost $2,188 for the year. That’s about the same as Direct Energy’s plain plan labeled 16.6¢, which would cost $2,179.

So the label price at 1,000 kWh is the best case, not your price. Your real price depends on how many months you clear the line. To judge any price per kWh, see what a good electricity rate is in Texas.

Renting? Read electricity for apartments for plans that fit lower usage. Thinking about a credit plan? Line up your 12 months first, then compare a few plans at that usage.

Next: what tops the state’s plan list today →

On October 14, 2026, a bill credit plan had the lowest 1,000 kWh price in all six main Texas delivery areas on Power to Choose. Yet only 71 of the 932 offers in those areas were credit plans.

Power to Choose is the state’s official plan list, run by the PUCT. Its full plan download has a yes-or-no tag called “minimum usage fees/credits” for every offer. A yes means the plan has a credit, a fee or a minimum charge tied to how much power you use.

That day, 77 offers had a yes. Of those, 71 were bill credit plans. The other 6 were one plan, listed in six areas, that charges a set amount in any month under 1,000 kWh.

In five of the six areas, the next four lowest prices were credit plans, too. At 500 kWh, it flips. In every area, at least 81 plans cost less at 500 kWh than the cheapest credit plan.

The median credit plan cost 10.9¢ per kWh at 1,000 kWh but 20.0¢ at 500 kWh. For plans with no credit or fee, the medians were 13.4¢ and 13.9¢. The median is the middle price: half cost more, and half cost less.

The 71 credit plans came from 10 companies, including TXU Energy, Constellation, Chariot Energy, Just Energy and Amigo Energy. Most take $125 off at 1,000 kWh or more. Below are six plans up close, from their own fact labels. Four have a credit, one has a usage fee and one is plain. All six are for Oncor’s area, dated October 4 or 5, 2026.

See the pattern? Each credit plan’s best price sits right on its credit line. Direct Energy’s $50 plan works the other way from the rest. It looks best at 500 kWh, then its price climbs as you use more.

The two Discount Power labels say the credit applies “when your usage on this plan is above or equal to” the line. The Direct Energy usage fee is worded the other way: “applicable if usage is below 1,001 kWh.” Small words matter. They decide whether exactly 1,000 kWh counts.

Want company details? Read our APG&E review, Discount Power review and Direct Energy review. Or check the companies in your city with our lists of Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth and McAllen electric companies. For this week’s lowest prices at your usage, with credit plans flagged, see the cheapest plans this week.

Grab the plan’s fact label and your last 12 bills. These five checks take about 2 minutes.

1. 1
   Find the credit line

   On the fact label, find the dollar amount and the exact kWh words. On Power to Choose, each plan links to its label. “Above or equal to 1,000 kWh” means 1,000 counts. “Below 1,001 kWh” means 1,000 is still under.

2. 2
   Count your short months

   Look at the kWh on your last 12 bills. Count the months under the line. Each one is a month with no credit.

3. 3
   Do the 12-month math

   Put your months into the calculator above. Compare yearly totals, not the 1,000 kWh price.

4. 4
   Check the cancel fee

   Credit plans have them too: $150 on APG&E’s SimpleSaver 11 and $295 on Discount Power’s 24-month plan. Texas rules say there’s no cancel fee if you move. You give a forwarding address, plus proof of the move if the company asks.

5. 5
   Know your 3-day window

   Switching companies? Texas rules give you three federal business days to cancel with no fee. The clock starts when you get the terms of service. Here’s how switching works.

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