Veteran Energy reviews 2026: 63/100, who owns it, and the paperless catch

Veteran Energy earns 63 out of 100, which we rate “fair.” It gets full marks for price, its BBB grade and time in business. Its contract and two state penalties against the company behind it cost the most points.

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

Veteran ties Base Power for 12th of the 25 Texas companies we’ve scored. That’s 1 point behind Chariot Energy and 11 points ahead of 4Change Energy, which sells under the very same license.

Why do the two brands match? The PUCT tracks complaints and penalties by the licensed company, not by the brand name on your bill. Veteran Energy, 4Change Energy and Express Energy all sell under one license, certificate 10041. So they share one complaint rating and the same two penalties. Both also get full marks for the BBB and for time in business. Veteran scores higher for one reason: its plain plan costs far less.

Veteran Energy quick facts

Next: who owns Veteran Energy →

Vistra Corp. owns it. Veteran Energy is a trade name of Value Based Brands LLC, which Vistra’s 2025 annual report calls “an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Vistra.” The brand did start in 2010 as its own company. Today’s website makes no claim that veterans own it.

1. 1
   Vistra Corp.Files yearly reports with the SEC · its 2025 Form 10-K came out Feb 27, 2026 · also owns TXU Energy
2. 2
   Value Based Brands LLCHolds PUCT certificate 10041, dated Dec 5, 2001 · based in Irving, Texas
3. 3
   Veteran EnergyOne of three brands on that license, with 4Change Energy and Express Energy · added Dec 21, 2020

How the Veteran name changed hands

1. April 9, 2010The American Legion’s Texas department writes that it approves a request to use “Veterans” in a new company’s name.
2. June 9, 2010Veteran Energy, LLC, a separate company, is formed in Texas.
3. February 23, 2011The PUCT gives it its own license, certificate 10199. The old company’s application described its founder as a veteran.
4. Late 2012Infinite Electric buys “a majority ownership” in Veteran Energy. The PUCT approves the change in January 2013.
5. November 2020Value Based Brands buys the customers of Veteran Energy LLC and Infinite Electric. It also gets “the intellectual property rights to use the Veteran Energy brand.”
6. December 21, 2020The PUCT adds “Veteran Energy” as a trade name on certificate 10041.
7. March 10, 2021The PUCT lets the old company give up its license. By then it “serves no Texas retail customers.”
8. February 27, 2026Vistra’s 2025 Form 10-K lists Veteran Energy as one of the names Value Based Brands does business under.

Vistra runs other Texas brands, too. The same 10-K lists TXU Energy, TriEagle Energy and Ambit Texas as fellow subsidiaries; see our Ambit review. In a 2023 report to the PUCT, Value Based Brands also names Vistra Corp. as its parent.

Much cheaper, on Oct 16, 2026. Veteran’s Basic 12 cost 12.2¢ per kWh at 1,000 kWh in Dallas. 4Change’s One Rate 12 cost 18.7¢, and the same licensed company sells both. That’s about $65 a month apart.

Already a 4Change customer? Your price depends on your plan and the day you signed, so check your own fact label first. 4Change doesn’t list plans on Power to Choose, so you won’t see its prices there. Before you leave any plan early, run the exit-fee check below. Our 4Change Energy review has its full record.

Call 1-888-367-7470. Its terms list hours of 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays, Central time. If your power goes out, call the utility that owns the lines, not Veteran.

Power out? Call your utility

One more number to know: an enrollment FAQ on its site lists 1-866-346-1812 as a number to call, while its terms and support page list it as the fax line. Its terms also give Lubbock Power & Light’s outage line, 1-806-775-2509; see our Lubbock electricity guide. For every utility’s outage line in one place, see how to report a power outage.

Got a new account number? Veteran’s FAQ says it moved to a new system in fall 2025. Its website was down from Oct. 29 to Nov. 3, 2025, customers got new account numbers, and late fees were waived during the change.

On Basic 12, it’s $20 for each month left, so up to $240. You can leave for $0 if you move and send proof, or if you cancel within 3 federal business days of getting your terms.

1. 1
   Moving out

   Send proof of your move and a forwarding address. Its terms say the cancel fee then doesn’t apply.

2. 2
   Just signed up

   You have until midnight of the 3rd federal business day after you get the terms. Call, fax or email.

3. 3
   New in the last 60 days

   The website lets new customers leave their first plan penalty free by phone within 60 days. It’s not in the contract, so ask for that in writing.

4. 4
   Any other reason

   The fee is $20 times the months left on your term. Switch only when the savings beat it.

What happens when Basic 12 ends?

Veteran’s terms promise three expiration notices in the last third of your term. On a 12-month plan, the last one comes at least 30 days before the end. If you do nothing, you move to its “default month-to-month renewal product.” That plan’s fact label comes with the final notice, and we didn’t find its price posted on Veteran’s site on Oct 16, 2026.

Veteran lists one plan on Power to Choose: Basic 12. On Oct 16, 2026, it cost 11.2¢ to 12.2¢ per kWh at 1,000 kWh, depending on your utility. It has a $0 base charge and no bill credit.

With no base charge and no credit, Basic 12’s price per kWh hardly moves with your use. In Dallas it’s 12.6¢ at 500 kWh and 12.0¢ at 2,000 kWh. Bill-credit plans work differently. Express Energy’s Flash Value 12, from the same company, lists a $125 credit only for months when you use 1,000 kWh or more. Our guide to bill-credit plans shows what that means in a mild month. Not sure which utility serves you? Find your utility.

A low, plain price makes a good yardstick. See what your ZIP can get before you sign up for a year.

The state doesn’t count Veteran by itself. From April through September 2026, the PUCT logged 79 complaints against Value Based Brands LLC, the company behind all three brands. 53 were about billing.

The PUCT counts every complaint “irrespective of whether or not the company was determined to be at fault,” or whether it was resolved. To see how other companies compare, visit our page of complaints for every Texas electricity company, or the full list of Texas electricity companies.

Not under its own name. But Value Based Brands LLC, the company that holds Veteran’s license, paid two PUCT penalties in 2024 totaling $204,207. Neither order mentions Veteran Energy or says whose customers were involved.

In both orders, the company “acknowledges the bases for the violations detailed in this Order.” Its own sworn statements say it sent checks for the full amounts on July 3 and Sept. 20, 2024.

1. May 14 to Aug. 11, 2022The company fails to send 10,942 contract expiration notices on time, the first order finds.
2. June 19 to Sept. 5, 2023It authorizes shutoffs for 139 customers in counties under extreme weather emergencies. The utilities carry out none of them.
3. May 23, 2024The PUCT order in Docket 56248 sets a $93,007 penalty.
4. September 12, 2024The PUCT order in Docket 56561 sets a $111,200 penalty.
5. May 2034The first penalty leaves our 10-year window, worth 4 points back.
6. September 2034The second one leaves the window, worth 8 points back.

How we checked: we searched PUCT case files under every name tied to this license, including Value Based Brands, Veteran Energy, 4Change, Express Energy, TXU SESCO and Infinite Electric. These are the only two we found since October 2016. We found none for the old Veteran Energy LLC. Web searches of the Texas Attorney General’s site found no action either, though we couldn’t search its news page directly.

Basic 12 has no base charge, but the terms list 12 company fees from $3.95 to $29.95, plus late-payment, returned-payment and upgrade fees. The one most people won’t expect: Basic 12 is paperless, and losing your email or asking for paper bills can cost up to $19.95.

Need help with a bill? Its terms point to deferred payment plans by phone and to 2-1-1 for local help. Our guide to help paying a Texas electric bill lists more programs.

Veteran beats 4Change Energy 63 to 52, and price is the only difference. TXU Energy, a Vistra company with its own license, scores 80. It does better on complaints (25 vs. 15), penalties (16 vs. 8) and its contract (12 vs. 5), but its prices earn 12 points to Veteran’s 20.

Short answers from state records, Veteran Energy’s own documents and Vistra’s SEC filings.

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