Frontier Utilities has made a specialty out of six-month plans. In an earlier article, we looked at plans that didn’t have Frontier’s high cancellation rates. If you’re looking for Houston electricity rates, and you’re not sure if you’ll be around for a full year, a 6-month plan might be the way to go.
If you think you might need to can cancel your plan early, do not use Frontier. The fees are designed to be prohibitively high. This article is written on the assumption that you will stay with Frontier for the full 6 months. The format below is as follows:
| Company | Location | 2000 kw/h | 1000 kw/h | 500 kw/h |
| Frontier Green & Clean 6 | Centerpoint (Houston) | 9.1 ¢ | 7.7 ¢ | 9.1 ¢ |
| Frontier Light Saver 6 | Centerpoint (Houston) | 8.5 ¢ | 9.6 ¢ | 11.0 ¢ |
Cheap Electricity Rates in Houston
Frontier offers the lowest rates on 6-month contracts versus the competitors. The rates on 12 and 24-month plans are always better. If you are planning on staying at one resident for a year or more, look at those plans.
Apartments
Green & Clean 6 from Frontier offers the lowest rates for very small homes and apartments. At $0.091 per kWh, the rate is on par with many other plans with longer terms.
Small Homes
The same plan, the Frontier Green and Clean 6 offers the best rates at 1,000 to 2,000 kWh. The rate of $0.077 is the lowest of the 6-month plans. This plan at any level has the nice advantage of being from 100% renewable resources. While these rates might be lower if you extend your plan, the fact that you are reducing your carbon footprint might be a great trade-off.
Large Homes
Homes, where the usage is higher, will want to move to Frontier’s Light Saver 6 The flexibility of a 6-month plan with a low rate for higher usage. At $0.085 kWh, this plan will make it affordable for larger homes and larger families.
Other Electricity Rate Factors in Houston
Monthly Base Fee – The Green & Clean plan charges a $8.00 monthly fee to everyone. This base fee is charged regardless of usage. The Light Saver 6 plan has the same $8.00 fee if usage falls below 2,000 kWh.
Cancellation Fees
Because a 6-month plan is, well, only for six months, the electric companies charge high cancellation fees. There are other plans, like the ones mentioned in the article above, that charge a lower cancellation fee, but higher per kWh rates.
The Green & Clean 6 has a $150 cancellation fee. This is likely to represent at least one, if not two, months of electricity. It will be better to simply ride it out.
The $100 cancellation fee for the Light Saver 6 is a bit better, bit it’s still quite a bit of cash to put out for something you’re not using.
One note on cancellation fees: If you can show that you are actually moving, the fee might be waived or reduced. Speak to your electricity provider to see what they can do for you. There might be consideration if you’re leaving as opposed to simply shopping around. And if you’re moving locally (within deregulated areas of Texas) you should be able to transfer your service without breaking your contract with a provider.
Minimum Usage Fees
Frontier doesn’t have a minimum usage fee in the classic sense. The Clean & Green plan has an $8.00 monthly charge at every level. This fee is waived on the Light Saver 6 plan when usage is over 2,000 kWh. This is a small monthly fee, but the $48.00 you spend each month needs to be factored in.
Usage Credits
None of the Frontier plans listed here offer a “usage credit” per se. The rates vary by usage, reflecting a credit, but Frontier doesn’t define a specific credit for usage.
All Things Considered
In Houston, if you’re looking for the lowest electricity rates on a 6-month plan, Frontier is the best option. It all still comes with a couple of pieces of advice:
If you can do a longer-term plan, it will save you money.
Shoot for the plan that matches your average usage best. That will make it easier to save.
If you are likely to cancel a six-month plan, be prepared to pay for the privilege. $100 to $150 is not small enough to ignore.
Apartments and small homes, where usage is under 2,000 kWh, the Frontier Green & Clean plan is the best option. Offering the lowest rates and 100% clean, renewable energy, this an excellent plan for the environmentally-conscious consumer.
Larger homes – For usage over 2,000 kWh, the Frontier Light Saver 6 is the best choice, offering the lowest rates. If monthly usage falls below, 2,000 kWh, there are not significant penalties beyond a higher rate and an $8.00 monthly fee. At 8.1¢ per kWh, this is a great plan for larger homes where folks don’t want the restriction of a long-term contract. If the environment is your thing, the Light Saver 6 isn’t; it is below the state average in renewable energy.
As of August 2017, this is the best information available. Always make sure that you check the EFL (Electricity Facts Label) on every plan to make sure that you have the latest information as is can change at any time.