"Lowest ¢/kWh wins" is the wrong test for TXU.
Most articles rank Texas plans by the headline rate at 1,000 kWh. That works for a flat fixed plan and fails for everything else TXU sells.
A Free Nights plan, for instance, charges 0¢/kWh from 8 pm to 6 am plus all weekend, then prices weekday daytime kWh several cents above a normal fixed rate. If you mostly run loads in the free window, it crushes fixed; if you cook and run AC at 5 pm, it loses badly. A Cash Money plan looks cheap at 1,500 kWh because a $100 bill credit kicks in, then turns expensive at 999 kWh when the credit vanishes.
Same provider, same REP, same tariff sheet, opposite verdicts. The right question is not "what is TXU's lowest rate" but "which TXU plan matches my usage shape, and what does that work out to in dollars at my real kWh?"
Three families. Seven plans. One pricing logic.
Strip away the marketing names and TXU's whole plan book reduces to three pricing logics. The naming changes every year; the math does not.
Family 1, predictable
Flat Fixed Rate
One ¢/kWh price, every hour of every day, for the full term (6, 12, 24 or 36 months). Includes the Smart Deals brand on a flat shape.
- Fixed 12 / 24 / 36: standard fixed;
- Smart Deals: flat fixed sold via promo channels.
Family 2, time-shaped
TOU and free-window
Some hours are 0¢/kWh; the rest are priced higher than a flat plan. You only win by pushing real kWh into the free window.
- Free Nights & Weekends: 0¢ 8 pm to 6 am + all weekend;
- Free Pass: 0¢ all weekend, full price on weekdays.
Family 3, asset-shaped
Solar, EV, bill credit
Plans built around a household feature (solar export, EV charging) or a usage cliff (the $100 credit at 1,000 to 2,000 kWh).
- Solar Days: solar buyback for owned rooftop;
- EV (Free EV Pass): free overnight EV charging;
- Cash Money: $100 credit at 1,000 to 2,000 kWh.
A plan that wins for an EV owner with night-shift hours will lose for a daytime-at-home household, on the same TXU tariff sheet. Pick the family that matches your usage shape first; pick the term length second.
Every TXU plan family, mapped to a household.
When each TXU plan wins, when it loses, what the cancel penalty looks like, and how the intro rate compares to the post-intro rate.
| Plan family | When it wins | When it loses | Typical ETF | Intro vs post-intro |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed Rate (6, 12, 24, 36 mo) | Stable usage, predictable monthly bill. | Wholesale rates fall mid-contract; you sit above market. | $150 to $295 | No intro; one flat rate for the full term. |
| Free Nights & Weekends | 35%+ of kWh used 8 pm to 6 am or on weekends. | Day-shift household at home 9 to 5; daytime rate is high. | $295 | Day rate stays flat; no intro promo. |
| Free Pass (free weekends) | Heavy weekend laundry, AC use, pool pump runtime. | Weekend kWh under ~25%; weekday rate cancels the discount. | $150 to $295 | Weekday rate stays flat; no intro promo. |
| Smart Deals (flat fixed promo) | Short-term shoppers (6 to 12 mo) who want a sign-up promo. | Post-promo rate jumps; you forget to switch at renewal. | $150 to $295 | Intro 1 to 3 months at a teaser; then flat post-intro. |
| Solar Days (solar buyback) | You own rooftop solar and export surplus to grid. | No solar; supply rate runs above plain fixed. | $295 | No intro; export credited at supply rate. |
| EV (Free EV Pass) | You charge an EV at home, mostly overnight. | No EV, or you charge on the road; you pay a premium for nothing. | $295 | No intro; EV-window kWh free. |
| Cash Money ($100 credit) | Usage lands inside the 1,000 to 2,000 kWh window every month. | Use 999 kWh; no credit, headline rate disappears. | $150 to $295 | No intro; credit applied each qualifying month. |
| TXU Business (commercial) | Small businesses with predictable, daytime-heavy usage. | Highly variable load; ERCOT-indexed plans may beat fixed. | Per contract | Custom; ask TXU Business sales for the term sheet. |
Always pull the live EFL for your ZIP code before signing. EFL numbers change weekly; this table shows the plan shapes and ranges, not a promise of any single rate.
Two kWh swing your bill by $100 on Cash Money.
TXU's Cash Money family applies a flat $100 bill credit on any billing month where your usage lands between 1,000 and 2,000 kWh. Use 999 kWh and the credit disappears; use 1,001 kWh and it applies.
For a typical TX household at the threshold, that two-kWh swing turns a $145 bill into a $245 bill, or the reverse. The EFL discloses the cliff in fine print; the marketing page features only the post-credit "headline" rate.
The cliff cuts both ways at the upper bound too: go from 1,999 kWh to 2,001 kWh and the credit also vanishes. Two months a year out of the band on a 1,150 kWh household can erase the plan's whole advantage.
same plan, 999 kWh vs 1,001 kWh, same household
How TXU builds plan shapes and who they target.
Every TXU plan is priced from the same wholesale hedge book; the shape determines who pays which slice. Here is what the pricing team is actually doing.
TOU peak windows are ERCOT-driven
Free Nights' 8 pm to 6 am window aligns with the ERCOT off-peak when wholesale prices typically sit below $30/MWh. TXU recovers the cost of the free overnight kWh by pricing the 6 am to 8 pm window 4 to 6 ¢/kWh above a flat plan; the peak window is when scarcity prices can spike to the $5,000/MWh cap.
Bill-credit thresholds are a sorting tool
A "$100 credit at 1,000 kWh" plan is engineered to attract heavy users (1,500 to 1,900 kWh) and discourage light users (below 1,000 kWh). The math: heavy users are profitable on supply, so a $100 credit still leaves margin; light users would be loss-making, so the cliff removes the credit and pushes them away.
Solar buyback rates are not 1:1
Solar Days credits exported kWh at the supply rate (~14¢/kWh), not at the full retail price (~19¢ all-in). The difference covers the TDU delivery TXU still pays for. Net-meter customers do not get back the wires charge; that is approved by the PUCT and embedded in every plan.
Intro vs post-intro is a churn bet
Plans with a 1 to 3 month intro rate work on the assumption that ~30% of customers will forget to switch at renewal and roll onto a higher month-to-month rate. TXU is required by PUCT rules to send a renewal notice; reading it is on you.
None of this is hidden. Every plan's EFL discloses the windows, the credit thresholds and the post-intro rate. The job of the plan name is to make one number look attractive; the job of the EFL is to disclose the rest.
Where TXU shoppers pick the wrong plan.
Five patterns we see again and again in customer complaints filed with the PUCT. Each one is fixable before you sign.
TXU vs Ambit, 4Change, TriEagle: same parent, different shelf labels.
Vistra Corp owns more than just TXU in Texas. Ambit Energy (acquired 2019) targets multi-level-marketing recruits with a different fee structure. 4Change Energy (acquired 2018) is a discount brand selling lower headline rates and slimmer customer service. TriEagle Energy (acquired 2018) leans on a "Texan-owned" pitch and small-business plans. Veteran Energy and Public Power sit in the same Vistra portfolio.
All five brands buy supply from the same Vistra generation book. The price differences across brands reflect customer-acquisition cost and brand positioning, not different wholesale costs. Cross-shopping inside Vistra is largely shopping the same supply book at different markups.
Real cross-shopping means comparing a Vistra brand (TXU, Ambit, 4Change) against an NRG brand (Reliant, Direct, Green Mountain) and at least one independent (Constellation, Champion, Gexa) at YOUR kWh on powertochoose.org.
What to do before signing a TXU plan.
Pull the EFL for your ZIP
Every TXU plan has a one-page Electricity Facts Label. It lists the price at 500, 1,000 and 2,000 kWh; the term length; the ETF; and any bill-credit thresholds. Read it before the marketing page.
Compute total $ at your kWh
Use the estimator at the top of this page. Plug in your average monthly kWh and your usage shape; compare all seven plans head to head. The rank changes with usage; the right plan for you is not the cheapest at 1,000 kWh.
Check bill-credit thresholds
If you are looking at Cash Money or any plan with a credit, pull 12 months of your past bills. If 3+ months sit outside the credit window, pick a plan without the cliff; the variance will erase any saving.
Match plan shape to your hours
Free Nights for night-shift; Free Pass for weekend-heavy; Solar Days only with real export; EV only with an EV; Fixed for everyone else. Mismatched shape is the most expensive shopping mistake.
Read the post-intro rate
If the EFL lists an "introductory" or "promo" rate, find the post-intro rate and use that for your math. The intro price covers 1 to 3 months; you pay the post-intro rate for the rest of the term.
Set a month-11 reminder
A 12-month TXU plan that auto-rolls onto month-to-month at expiry costs 50 to 150% more than the contract you just left. TXU sends a renewal notice; calendar it so you actually act on it. If you struggle to pay, contact the CEAP bill-assistance program.
Common questions about TXU Energy plans.
The catch is the daytime rate. Free Nights & Weekends charges 0 cents per kWh between 8 pm and 6 am on weekdays and all day Saturday and Sunday. In exchange, the weekday 6 am to 8 pm energy rate is typically 4 to 6 cents per kWh above a comparable fixed plan. You still pay TDU delivery on every kWh including the free ones. To beat a flat fixed plan, roughly 35% of your monthly kWh has to land inside the free window. Day-shift households at home in the evening usually fail that test.
No. Solar Days prices the energy charge above a comparable fixed plan because the value is supposed to come from solar export credits. With no rooftop solar to export, you pay the premium and get nothing back. The plan only pays off if your panels are sized to produce a meaningful monthly surplus, exports are credited at the supply rate (not the full retail price), and your TDU has a net-meter agreement on file. If you have solar, compare Solar Days against Reliant Simple Solar Sell Back and Green Mountain Renewable Rewards before signing.
Plans in the Cash Money family apply a flat $100 credit on any billing month where your usage lands between 1,000 and 2,000 kWh. A bill of 999 kWh pays full price; a bill of 1,001 kWh saves $100. The cliff applies at both ends of the band. Pull 12 months of past bills before signing; if more than 2 months sit outside the band, the variance erases the saving and a flat Fixed 12 ends up cheaper.
Residential terms run from month-to-month (no ETF) up to 36 months. Most popular options are 12 and 24. Early Termination Fees are typically $150 on a 12-month plan and $295 on 24 to 36 months, charged in full no matter when you cancel. Three exceptions waive the ETF: moving outside TXU service territory with proof of address; cancelling within the final 14 days of your contract under PUCT rules; or accepting TXUs renewal offer (no switch, no fee).
Yes, switching to a different TXU plan inside your existing contract usually triggers a free upgrade rather than an ETF, because you are not leaving TXU. The new plans term resets on the day you switch. Useful if your usage shape changes (you buy an EV, install solar, move to night shift) and the current plan no longer fits.
Because the TDU delivery rate is different in each territory and is baked into the EFL price at 500, 1,000 and 2,000 kWh. TXU charges the same supply rate everywhere it operates; the wires charge is set by the PUCT for each TDU. Houston (CenterPoint) and TNMP territories have the highest base TDU charges; Oncor (DFW) tends to be the lowest. Same plan name, different total because Layer 3 changes by ZIP.
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