Tara Energy review 2026: 61/100. Is it reliable, and who owns it?

Tara earns 61 out of 100, a “fair” grade. It gets full marks for price, but only for homes that reach 1,000 kWh. Its contract costs it the most points, then complaints, then one shared state penalty.

90–100 Excellent80–89 Very good70–79 Good60–69 FairUnder 60 Poor

That puts Tara 16th of the 25 Texas companies we’ve scored, just behind Reliant and Frontier at 62 and just ahead of Payless Power at 60.

We scored Tara with the same formula, and the same judgment calls, as its sister brands Amigo Energy (54) and Just Energy (52). Their 12-month plans match. The gap comes from each license’s own state record.

Tara Energy quick facts

Next: which Tara number fits your problem →

Call 1-866-438-8272 for bills, plans or a move. Tara’s support page lists hours of 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays, Central time. Help comes in English and Spanish.

Power out? Call your utility, not Tara

These outage lines come from Tara’s own documents. Its support page says it plainly: the wires company in your area handles outages, no matter who sells you power. Our outage guide covers every Texas utility.

Value Choice - 12 is Tara’s only 12-month plan on Power to Choose. It takes $125 off any bill of 1,000 kWh or more. Use even 1 kWh less and the credit is gone. In Dallas, that turns a $117.73 bill into a $242.49 bill.

When does Value Choice actually win? Against Basics PTC - 24, only from 1,000 kWh to about 1,420 kWh a month in Dallas, or about 1,810 kWh in Houston. Below 1,000 kWh you get no credit at all, and in Dallas you pay an energy rate about twice as high as Basics. Our guide to bill-credit plans shows how other companies set the same kind of line.

On Oct 16, 2026, Tara listed 5 home plans each in Dallas and Houston on Power to Choose. At 1,000 kWh they ran from 9.9¢ to 15.5¢ per kWh with delivery. All 5 carry a $175 cancel fee.

A plan list is only true on the day you check it. Price the whole market at your ZIP before a $175 cancel fee ties you down.

Texans filed 10 complaints about Tara with the PUCT from April 1 to September 30, 2026, and 32 companies drew more. The state rates Tara 3 of 5, an “Average Complaint Rate.” Amigo’s and Just Energy’s licenses both get 2 of 5.

Complaints have fallen two years in a row, from 51 in 2023 to 37 in 2024 and 26 in 2025. Of the 10 filed from April to September 2026, 7 were about billing, 2 about disconnection and 1 about getting service. The state counts a complaint “irrespective of whether or not the company was determined to be at fault,” and it warns that small companies’ ratings can swing “based on only a few complaints.” See complaints for every Texas electricity company.

Once in the last 10 years. In October 2019, the PUCT approved a $475,000 combined penalty for Tara and its two sister companies. The order made all three “jointly and severally liable,” so each could be held to the full amount.

These counts are Commission Staff’s allegations, as the order recites them. The companies said no customer complained about the switch holds. The order says the three companies “acknowledge the basis for the violations alleged by Commission Staff.” The settlement adds that signing it “does not admit the truth or accuracy of any such disputed claims.”

1. August 5, 2002The PUCT approves retail electric provider certificate 10051 for Tara Energy, Inc.
2. December 2010Tara pays a $13,000 PUCT penalty (Docket 38839). The order describes a 2010 state audit. Among its findings: sign-up forms and contracts were “in English only rather than the languages used in the marketing of the product.” The deal says paying is not an admission of liability.
3. October 2019The PUCT approves the $475,000 combined penalty for Just Energy, Amigo Energy and Tara (Docket 49688). The three must also put $225,000 toward bill-help programs in 2019.
4. November 7, 2019The companies pay the $475,000, says a sworn statement filed with the PUCT. That December they give $100,000 to Sharing Life Community Outreach and $125,000 to BakerRipley in Houston.
5. September 2026The state scorecard rates Tara 3 of 5 for March through August 2026.
6. About October 16, 2029The 2019 penalty passes out of our 10-year window. If nothing else changed, Tara’s score would rise to 69.

How we checked: we searched the PUCT’s case files for Tara, Tara Energy, Tara Power, Smart Prepaid, Just Energy, Fulcrum and Hudson Energy. Only two penalty cases name Tara, and only the 2019 case is inside our window. Just Energy’s 2022 penalty named Just Energy Texas LP alone. A search of the Texas Attorney General’s site found no action naming Tara, though that check isn’t complete.

IGS Energy does, through Just Energy. IGS finished buying Just Energy on July 1, 2025. Its April 2025 release named Tara Energy as one of Just Energy’s four brands. IGS describes itself as “private and family-owned.”

Three licenses use the Tara name

So “Tara Power” and “Tara Energy Resources” are names on Amigo’s license, not the one we scored. Before you sign, find “PUCT License #” on the fact label. Tara’s own labels print 10051.

How close are Tara and Just Energy?

Very close. Tara’s July 2025 state filing lists five people, with titles including CEO, CFO and COO, as employed by Just Energy. A July 2026 filing says that list has changed and keeps the new one confidential. Tara’s sign-up system says the Tara name and design are Just Energy trademarks, used under license. And Tara’s terms still say a critical care customer must “pay Just Energy for services provided.”

We also lined up Tara’s terms (version of July 14, 2026) against Amigo’s and Just Energy’s. With brand names hidden, the first 20,000 characters matched each sister’s at 99.4%.

When Just Energy took over in 2011, Tara told the state that “the REP Certificate will remain with Tara, who will continue to provide REP services.” Its terms today also let it pass your contract to another company “without your consent.”

Beyond the $175 cancel fee, Tara’s terms allow up to $25 for each disconnect notice, up to $25 for a disconnection and a 5% late fee. Value Choice - 12 adds $4.99 to any bill under 400 kWh.

From a missed due date to a shutoff

1. 1
   The bill arrives

   State rules set the due date at least 16 days after the bill is issued.

2. 2
   The due date passes

   Tara can add a one-time late fee of 5% of the past-due balance.

3. 3
   A disconnect notice

   It can go out no sooner than the day after the due date. Each one can carry a fee of up to $25.

4. 4
   The shutoff

   It can come no sooner than 10 days after the notice, or 21 days for critical and chronic care homes, and not on a weekend or holiday. A fee of up to $25 can apply.

5. 5
   Getting power back

   Tara’s terms say reconnection “will require payment by credit card or cash.”

By our math, the earliest shutoff comes about 27 days after a bill is issued, before mail time. Short on money? Tara’s terms offer payment arrangements and deferred payment plans, and our bill help guide lists other aid.

When your term ends: Tara’s terms promise three notices, the last at least 14 days before the end. State rules require the last one at least 30 days before a 12-month plan ends (16 TAC §25.475(e)). If you do nothing, you roll onto a month-to-month plan. Its variable-rate labels put that at about 22.9¢ per kWh in Dallas and 23.2¢ in Houston at 1,000 kWh, 44% to 46% above the Texas average. You can leave it with no fee, so mark the end date. Here’s what to do when a contract ends.

These come straight from Tara’s own pages and papers. None of them changes the score, but each one can change your bill or your plans.

1. 1
   Read the Spanish label closely

   The Spanish fact label for Value Choice - 12 says its price can change with “precios de mercado,” or market prices. The English label doesn’t say that. Both versions of Tara’s terms limit fixed-price changes to utility charges, grid fees and new laws.

2. 2
   No deposit can mean prepaid

   Tara’s sign-up system says its no-deposit, pay-as-you-go service comes from “our affiliated company Smart Prepaid Electric.” Its no-deposit page first sets the two apart, then calls them “functionally the same thing.” Ask which one you’re buying.

3. 3
   Solar owners, check the rules

   Every Tara fact label we read says it buys back extra solar power. Its website-only Solar Power Rewards plan pays a 6¢ per kWh credit, but its sign-up system lists a $14.95 monthly charge and a $375 cancel fee. Its Free Nights plans don’t take solar homes.

4. 4
   Fee protection comes as a membership

   Tara promotes GoodBundle, which offers “waived late payment fees” and “disconnection notice fee protection.” Its page shows no price. Autopay, which Tara says is free, is another way to stay clear of late fees.

Have solar? Our solar buyback guide compares credits across companies. Need power without a deposit? See no-deposit and prepaid plans.

On Power to Choose, all three sell the same 12-month deal at the same prices, under terms that are almost word for word the same. The difference is each license’s state record, and Tara’s is the strongest of the three.

If you’ve already settled on this plan, the price won’t help you pick a brand. The record behind the license might.

Quick answers from state records and Tara’s own documents.

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