TXU Energy Review 2026: Plans, Rates & Is It Good?

Updated on September 29, 2026

12 min read

TXU Energy is one of the largest retail electricity providers in Texas, owned by Vistra, and on a live Oncor-territory quote pulled September 21, 2026 its 12-month fixed plans run 13.9¢–17.8¢ per kWh at the 2,000 kWh level TXU advertises — but 16.2¢–19.5¢ at the 1,000 kWh most homes actually use. TXU Energy does not list on Power to Choose, sells direct only, and every term plan carries a $150 early-termination fee ($295 on the 24-month plan) plus a $9.95 base charge on most plans.

Last updated September 21, 2026 · Prices and Electricity Facts Labels pulled from a live shopping.txu.com quote for a house in ZIP 75078 (Prosper, TX — Oncor delivery).

TL;DR — key takeaways

• Who: TXU Energy is a Vistra-owned retail electricity provider (REP #10004) serving deregulated Texas since 2002. It does not own the wires.
• Plans on the quote: 10 residential plans — eight 12-month fixed, one 24-month fixed, two month-to-month. Senior Rewards 12, on our September 4 quote, was no longer offered at this address.
• Price: 13.9¢–18.5¢/kWh at 2,000 kWh (what TXU advertises); 16.2¢–19.5¢ at 1,000 kWh (closer to a typical home). Prices were unchanged from our September 4 check.
• Fine print: $9.95/mo base charge (e-Saver: $6.95), $150 early-termination fee ($295 on Simple Value 24), 3% renewable content, Oncor delivery passed through.
• Traps to know: Smart 2000 Select’s 10.5¢ needs 2,000+ kWh in the month to unlock a $100 credit; Saver’s Choice’s 13.9¢ relies on a $50 credit at 1,200+ kWh and a three-tier energy charge.
• Not on Power to Choose: TXU sells through txu.com and by phone only, so its rates never appear in the state comparison site.

What is TXU Energy?

TXU Energy is a retail electricity provider (REP) serving the deregulated parts of Texas. It does not own the poles and wires — your local utility (Oncor, CenterPoint, AEP Texas or TNMP) still delivers the power and handles outages. TXU buys the electricity, sets the plan price, and sends the bill. It is one of the most recognized names in the Texas market and has sold power under the TXU brand since the market opened in 2002.

Because the delivery utility is separate, every TXU Energy bill has two halves: TXU’s energy charge and base charge, and the utility’s delivery charge that TXU passes through at cost. The “average price per kWh” TXU advertises already includes that delivery charge, which is why the same plan carries a different average price in Houston than in Dallas.

Where is TXU Energy available?

TXU Energy serves the deregulated areas of Texas only, across the Oncor (Dallas–Fort Worth and much of North and West Texas), CenterPoint (Houston), AEP Texas (Corpus Christi, the Valley, Abilene) and TNMP territories. It is not available in Austin, San Antonio, El Paso or the co-op and municipal areas that never deregulated. To confirm availability and see the plan prices for your own utility, run your ZIP through a comparison check — the numbers below are for Oncor.

TXU Energy plans and rates (September 2026)

Here is the full residential lineup from a live quote for a house in ZIP 75078 on September 21, 2026, with the average price at all three usage levels from each plan’s detail card. One thing to know first: TXU advertises its headline price at 2,000 kWh per month, not the 1,000 kWh benchmark Power to Choose and most competitors use. At 1,000 kWh the ranking changes and the “cheapest” plan is not the one with the lowest headline.

Live Oncor quote, September 21, 2026. Averages include Oncor delivery charges per TXU’s own fine print and change often; the same plans carry different averages in CenterPoint, AEP or TNMP territory. Every price on this table matched our September 4 quote to the tenth of a cent, so TXU has held its Oncor pricing through September.

Two things stand out. At 1,000 kWh, the two plain plans — Simple Value 24 (16.2¢) and Simple Rate 12 (16.6¢) — beat every “savings” plan, and the plans with the lowest headlines, Smart 2000 Select (10.5¢) and Saver’s Choice (13.9¢), are the two most expensive at 1,000 kWh after the month-to-month fallback. And every term plan carries TXU’s Price Protect Promise (the fixed rate moves only for regulatory pass-throughs listed on the EFL) plus a 60-day Total Satisfaction Guarantee that waives the early-termination fee if you cancel within 60 days of sign-up.

What the TXU Energy Electricity Facts Labels actually say

The plan card gives you an average. The Electricity Facts Label (EFL) gives you the formula, and it is the legally binding document. We opened the September 21, 2026 Oncor EFLs for the five plans most people compare. Here is what is under the hood.

On top of every one of these, Oncor’s delivery charge is passed through at cost — about $4.06 per month plus 6.0¢ per kWh under the current Oncor tariff — and that is what turns a 9.2¢ energy charge into a 16.6¢ average. The math for Simple Rate 12 at 1,000 kWh: $9.95 base + $92.00 energy + $4.06 Oncor base + $60.30 Oncor delivery = $166.31, or 16.6¢ per kWh, exactly what the EFL prints.

The $100 cliff on Smart 2000 Select

Smart 2000 Select 12 is a 9.4¢ plan with a $9.95 base charge and a $100 credit that appears only in billing cycles where usage reaches 2,000 kWh. Use 2,000 kWh and the bill is about $222 after the credit in a normal month, about $172 in July, August and September with the extra $50 — which is how the EFL arrives at its 10.5¢ annual average. Use 1,900 kWh and the credit vanishes, the bill is about $307, and the effective rate is 16.1¢.

A home that averages 1,000 kWh pays 16.8¢ on this plan and may never see the credit outside of peak summer. It is a good plan for a large all-electric house that clears 2,000 kWh every month and a poor one for everyone else.

Saver’s Choice 12 is a tier plan, not a flat rate

Saver’s Choice charges 12.1¢ on the first 1,200 kWh, drops to 6.1¢ for kWh 1,201–2,000, then jumps to 12.7¢ above 2,000, with a $50 credit once the month hits 1,200 kWh. That is why it prices at 19.5¢ at 1,000 kWh but 13.9¢ at 2,000. The “automatic bill relief” on the card is the $50 credit; it only relieves bills that are already large.

How to get the lowest TXU Energy price

If your home uses 800–1,300 kWh a month, Simple Value 24 (16.2¢) or Simple Rate 12 (16.6¢) will almost always cost less than the credit plans, and the $50 Visa card on Simple Rate 12 offsets about three months of base charge. e-Saver 12 is worth it only if you will keep AutoPay and paperless billing on for the full term. If you consistently clear 2,000 kWh, Smart 2000 Select becomes the cheapest plan on the quote. Check your last three bills for actual kWh before choosing; TXU’s own site estimates 848 kWh for a gas-heat home and 1,132 for electric heat.

Is TXU Energy legit and a good provider?

TXU Energy is a long-established, licensed Texas REP (PUCT certificate #10004) with one of the largest customer bases in the state, 24/7 support and a well-rated app. Its plans are not the cheapest in Oncor territory — smaller REPs routinely undercut its flat rates by 1–3¢ on Power to Choose — but its fixed-rate terms are straightforward, the 60-day guarantee is real, and the Price Protect Promise means a 12-month rate stays put. Like any provider, the value comes down to matching the plan to your usage. Read the EFL before signing.

TXU Energy pros and cons

Who owns TXU Energy?

TXU Energy is owned by Vistra Corp (NYSE: VST), a Dallas-based Fortune 500 power company that also owns Ambit Energy, 4Change Energy, TriEagle and Dynegy. It is not part of NRG, which owns Reliant, Green Mountain and Direct Energy. TXU has sold electricity under its own brand since Texas deregulated in 2002 and is the retail arm of the same company that operates a large fleet of Texas power plants.

How to switch to or cancel TXU Energy

Switching electricity providers in Texas takes about five minutes: pick a plan, enter your address and the new provider handles the switch with your utility, usually with no interruption in service and same-day starts for homes with smart meters that enroll before 6:30 p.m. If you are leaving on a fixed-term plan, check the EFL for the early-termination fee — $150 on the 12-month plans, $295 on Simple Value 24, waived if you move out of the premise. Start by comparing TXU Energy against other providers at your ZIP.

How do I contact TXU Energy customer service?

Reach customer service 24/7 at 1-800-818-6132 for billing, outages and account help. For new enrollment call 1-833-201-0058; to cancel or transfer service call 1-888-318-7936. You can also manage your account through the MyTXU app or online portal. For a power outage, call your utility directly — Oncor at 888-313-4747 or CenterPoint at 713-207-2222 — since TXU does not operate the lines.

TXU Energy for business: how TXU sells commercial electricity

TXU Energy runs a separate business division split into Small Business and Commercial & Industrial. As of September 28, 2026 the small-business side sells by custom quote — an online request form or small-business specialists at 855-881-0489, Monday to Friday 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. — rather than a published rate card, and backs the sign-up with a 60-day Total Satisfaction Guarantee (“try us for 60 days with no strings attached”). The one priced business add-on is TXU Business Surge Protect, equipment coverage in $2,000, $5,000 and $10,000 annual tiers at $10.95 to $24.95 a month with no deductible. TXU does not publish business plan names, terms or energy charges online; hold any TXU quote against the one public Texas small-commercial EFL, Champion’s 9.7¢ energy charge on Oncor.

Source: the supplier’s own business pages (Champion: Electricity Facts Label, PUC #10098; NRG Business: Texas small-commercial terms of service, REP #10011), read September 28, 2026. Commercial electricity is priced per meter; treat these as the published starting points.

What a commercial contract adds over the residential plan on this page: a price built from your meter’s 12-month usage and load factor rather than a published rate card, term choices from 12 to 36 months or longer, a base charge and pass-through structure that differ from the residential EFL, and exit terms that scale with the months remaining. Compare every business quote as an all-in price at your real usage — the method is in our cheapest business electricity guide and the supplier field is compared in business electricity providers.

Business shopper? Compare business electricity providers, read how the cheapest business contracts are built, or talk to a commercial specialist.

TXU Energy FAQ

Is TXU Energy good?

TXU Energy is a large, established Texas provider with a well-rated app, a 60-day cancellation guarantee and a wide range of plans. Whether it is the best deal depends on the plan and your usage — at 1,000 kWh its plain 12- and 24-month plans price at 16.2¢–16.6¢ in Oncor territory, and smaller providers often beat that.

Is TXU Energy on Power to Choose?

No. TXU appears in Power to Choose’s company filter but lists zero plans there. We verified its absence on August 30, September 4 and September 21, 2026. TXU sells direct through txu.com and by phone only, so its rates never show up in the state’s comparison listings.

Which TXU Energy plan is best?

For most homes using 800–1,300 kWh, Simple Value 24 (16.2¢ at 1,000 kWh) or Simple Rate 12 (16.6¢, with a $50 Visa card) is the best value. Smart 2000 Select is only worth it if you clear 2,000 kWh every month. Free Nights & Cool Summer suits homes that can shift laundry, dishwashing and EV charging overnight, but excludes solar, EV and battery homes.

Does TXU Energy charge a base fee?

Yes. Every plan we checked carries a monthly base charge on the EFL — $9.95 on Simple Rate 12, Simple Value 24, Smart 2000 Select 12 and Saver’s Choice 12, and $6.95 on e-Saver 12 — billed regardless of usage, plus Oncor’s $4.06 monthly delivery charge.

What is TXU Energy’s early termination fee?

$150 on the 12-month fixed plans and $295 on Simple Value 24, per the September 2026 EFLs. It is waived if you move and cannot take service with you, and waived for any reason if you cancel within 60 days of signing up under the Total Satisfaction Guarantee. Month-to-month plans have no fee.

Does TXU Energy provide gas?

No. TXU Energy sells electricity only. Natural gas in Texas is delivered by regulated utilities such as Atmos and CenterPoint Gas and is not part of the deregulated market.

How do I cancel TXU Energy?

You can switch away at the end of your term with no early-termination fee, or pay the ETF to leave a fixed plan early. The simplest path is to sign up with a new provider, which handles the switch; call 1-888-318-7936 if you need to cancel without switching.

Is TXU Energy available in my area?

TXU serves the deregulated areas of Texas across the Oncor, CenterPoint, AEP Texas and TNMP utilities. It is not available in Austin, San Antonio, El Paso or co-op territories. Enter your ZIP to confirm availability and see the current rate.

Plan prices and terms change frequently. Confirm the current Electricity Facts Label for your utility territory on the provider’s site before enrolling.

Does TXU Energy offer business electricity?

Yes. TXU Energy sells small-business and commercial electricity by custom quote, with small-business specialists six days a week and a 60-day Total Satisfaction Guarantee, as of September 28, 2026. It publishes no business rate card; the priced add-on is Business Surge Protect at $10.95 to $24.95 a month.

Sources

• TXU Energy plan quote for ZIP 75078 (Oncor) — all ten plans and their pricing-by-usage details, captured September 21, 2026.
• TXU Energy Electricity Facts Labels — Simple Rate 12 (shown), Simple Value 24, e-Saver 12, Smart 2000 Select 12 and Saver’s Choice 12, Oncor versions dated September 21, 2026.
• TXU Energy TDU delivery charges — the Oncor pass-through rates used in the bill math above.
• Power to Choose (Public Utility Commission of Texas) — the state comparison site, where TXU lists no plans.
• Public Utility Commission of Texas — REP certification and consumer protection rules.

Keep going

• Compare Texas electricity plans
• How to read an Electricity Facts Label
• Why is my energy bill so high?
• Waco electricity rates: compare plans in Oncor territory
• Reliant Energy review
• Gexa Energy review
• Green Mountain Energy review
• 4Change Energy review: same Vistra owner, lower prices
• Direct Energy review 2026: best plans, real rates and costly traps
• Champion Energy review: the no-base-charge alternative to bill-credit plans
• Power to Choose Texas: how the PUCT site sorts plans and how to read it properly