Which Houston electricity providers have the widest tiered usage?
When it comes to Texas electricity, cost certainty can be elusive. Fixed-rate electricity plans tell you how much you’ll pay for any given amount of electricity. When you use more, you pay more. But what if your Houston electricity bill could be the same price each month no matter how much electricity you use? That would be wonderful, but keep dreaming!
The next best option to the fantasy fixed bill is a tiered price electricity plan with wide usage tiers. As long as you stay within a plan’s specified usage tier, your price remains the same each month. Use more or less than that tier allows, and your price changes. But if you find a plan where a single-tier contains the full range of your normal usage, you might get that difficult-to-find cost certainty so many people wish they could have.
What is electricity tiered usage pricing?
Some Texas retail electricity providers haven’t done a great job of explaining the concept and there’s been much confusion around Texas tiered electricity pricing. However, the way tiered pricing works is actually quite simple.
Tiered pricing electricity plans assign fixed prices to fall within specific ranges of electricity usage. No matter what your usage is in a given month, that usage fits within one of those tiers and therefore has a corresponding price. Typically, the highest tier of a plan will assign a price per kWh for usage above a certain usage amount. Here’s an example tiered pricing structure:
| Tier | Usage | Price |
| Tier 1 | Charge if you use at least 1 kWh | $90 per billing cycle |
| Tier 2 | Additional charge if you use at least 501 kWh | $0 per billing cycle |
| Tier 3 | Additional charge if you use at least 1,001 kWh | $60 per billing cycle |
| Tier 4 | Additional charge if you use at least 1,501 kWh | $0 per billing cycle |
| Beyond | Additional charge if you use more than 2,000 kWh | 12.50¢ per kWh in excess of 2,000 kWh |
In this example, a customer who uses 1,001 kWh pays the same price as a customer who uses 1,500 kWh. Excluding TDU charges, both customers pay $150. Not surprisingly, tier pricing can also get very, very complicated. The trick is to find tiered electricity plans with wide usage tiers.
Texas electricity tiered usage rate plans
Two Houston tiered electricity plans have the widest usage tiers. Each one offers a fixed price for the first 1,000 kWh of usage in a billing cycle. Customers on the Easy Bill 12 plan from Frontier Utilities pay a $90 base charge and nothing more for the first 1,000 kWh. However, beyond 1,000 kWh, the price goes to 16.6 cents per kWh. Households on the Wise Buy Complete 12 plan from Discount Power pay $99 for the first 1,000 kWh, an additional $55 for the next 1,000 kWh (1,001 to 2,000 kWh), and then 11.9 cents per kWh after that.
Cheap tiered usage rate electricity
Tiered usage plans can be advantageous for some CenterPoint Houston customers, but not for all. If your usage always falls under 1,000 kWh, the two plans highlighted above are good options for you. However, there could be better options if your usage tends to be significantly lower than 1,000 kWh. When you don’t come close to a tier’s top limit, the effect is the same as paying for energy you don’t use. Low usage customers may find better deals with traditional fixed-rate electricity plans.
Texas electricity plan comparison
If you’re in the market for a new Texas electricity rate plan, you can find all the information you need at https://www.texaselectricityratings.com. Explore available plans and compare them with innovative shopping tools. Texans have the power to choose their electricity providers, so make sure you have the knowledge you need to match your home with the right power company.