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Reliant Energy Review 2026: Best Plans, Real Rates & the Credit Trap to Avoid
Updated on October 1, 2026
15 min read
TL;DR
- 17 Reliant Energy plans at ZIP 75078 (Oncor) on September 23, 2026, from 11.7¢ to 19.6¢ per kWh at 2,000 kWh. The shop link you arrive on changes what you see: a promo link we tested showed only 10 of them.
- The advertised 11.9¢ and 12.9¢ prices depend on a bill credit. Power Savings plans take $75 off only in months you use 1,000 kWh or more. Use 999 kWh and the same bill is $74.80 higher.
- Cheapest over a real Texas year: Secure Advantage 12 for a house (about $2,061), and Apartment 9 or Secure Advantage 24 with its $500 in loyalty credits for an apartment (about $1,335 to $1,368).
- Most expensive traps: Power Savings 2,000 kWh 24 (a $150 credit almost no home earns), Prepaid Power and Clear Flex (variable, 18.5¢ to 19.6¢).
- Against other brands at the same ZIP, Reliant’s best house plan cost about $281 more a year than Champion Energy’s Champ Saver 6 and about $26 less than Direct Energy’s Live Brighter.
- Worth knowing: a 90-day satisfaction guarantee lets you switch once to another Reliant plan without the early cancellation fee — but not leave Reliant for free.
Reliant Energy is an NRG-owned Texas retail electricity provider (PUCT certificate #10007) that sells fixed-rate, bill-credit, time-of-use, prepaid and month-to-month plans across deregulated Texas. On a live quote for ZIP 75078 (Prosper, Oncor delivery) on September 23, 2026, Reliant Energy offered 17 residential plans. The lowest advertised price, 11.9¢ per kWh at 1,000 kWh on Power Savings 9, only applies in months you hit 1,000 kWh; over a full year of real Texas usage, Reliant’s cheapest plan for a typical house was Secure Advantage 12 at about $2,061.
Last updated September 23, 2026 · Prices verified September 23, 2026 from live shop.reliant.com quotes for ZIP 75078 (Prosper, TX — Oncor delivery) and Reliant’s Electricity Facts Labels for Power Savings 24, Secure Advantage 24 and Get More, Save More 12, dated September 1, 2026. Champion Energy and Direct Energy comparison quotes pulled September 23, 2026; TXU Energy and Discount Power September 21, 2026.
What is Reliant Energy?
Reliant Energy is a retail electric provider (REP) in the deregulated Texas market and part of NRG Energy, which also owns Direct Energy, Green Mountain Energy and Cirro Energy. Reliant sells you the electricity and sends the bill; your local utility — Oncor, CenterPoint, AEP Texas or TNMP — owns the poles and wires, reads the meter and restores power after outages.
Reliant Energy Retail Services, LLC holds PUCT certificate #10007, and its customer care line (1-866-RELIANT) runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is one of the best-known brands in Texas electricity, which is exactly why its plan list deserves a careful read: the brand is familiar, but the prices move a lot depending on which plan and which month you are in.
Reliant Energy plans and rates at ZIP 75078 (September 2026)
These are all 17 Reliant Energy residential plans shown for ZIP 75078 (Oncor) on September 23, 2026, with the 500-, 1,000- and 2,000-kWh average prices from each plan’s pricing details and its early cancellation fee. Every price includes Oncor’s delivery charges of $4.06 a month plus 6.0295¢ per kWh.
| Reliant plan | Term / type | 500 kWh | 1,000 kWh | 2,000 kWh | Early cancellation fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power Savings 9 | 9 mo, fixed, $75 credit at 1,000+ kWh | 19.8¢ | 11.9¢ | 15.4¢ | $95 |
| Power Savings 12 | 12 mo, fixed, $75 credit at 1,000+ kWh | 20.8¢ | 12.9¢ | 16.4¢ | $150 |
| Power Savings 24 | 24 mo, fixed, $75 credit at 1,000+ kWh | 20.8¢ | 12.9¢ | 16.4¢ | $295 |
| Power Savings 2,000 kWh 24 | 24 mo, fixed, $150 credit at 2,000+ kWh | 19.9¢ | 19.5¢ | 11.7¢ | $295 |
| Secure Advantage 12 | 12 mo, fixed | 17.5¢ | 15.2¢ | 14.9¢ | $150 |
| Secure Advantage 24 | 24 mo, fixed, four $125 loyalty credits | 20.1¢ | 17.8¢ | 17.5¢ | $295 |
| Get More, Save More 12 | 12 mo, fixed, lower rate above 1,000 kWh | 17.6¢ | 16.5¢ | 14.9¢ | $150 |
| Get More, Save More 36 | 36 mo, fixed, lower rate above 1,000 kWh | 18.7¢ | 17.6¢ | 14.5¢ | $395 |
| Apartment 9 | 9 mo, fixed, renters | 16.8¢ | 15.9¢ | 16.4¢ | $10 per month left |
| Apartment 12 | 12 mo, fixed, renters | 17.8¢ | 16.9¢ | 17.4¢ | $10 per month left |
| Cowboys | 12 mo, fixed, $100 Fanatics gift card | 19.1¢ | 16.8¢ | 16.5¢ | $150 |
| Free Overnight 12 | 12 mo, free 9 p.m.–6 a.m. | 17.6¢ | 17.2¢ | 16.9¢ | $150 |
| Truly Free Weekends 12 | 12 mo, free Fri 8 p.m.–Mon 12 a.m. | 17.6¢ | 17.2¢ | 16.9¢ | $150 |
| Flextra Credits 24 | 24 mo, 100% solar, 2 free days a week | 19.6¢ | 19.2¢ | 18.9¢ | $295 |
| Solar Payback Match 12 | 12 mo, solar panels required | 20.5¢ | 19.1¢ | 18.4¢ | $150 |
| Clear Flex | Month to month, variable | 21.1¢ | 18.8¢ | 18.5¢ | None |
| Prepaid Power | Month to month, variable, prepaid | 20.3¢ | 19.9¢ | 19.6¢ | None |
Two things are easy to miss here. First, Reliant’s plan cards lead with the 2,000-kWh price, which flatters the tiered plans and hides the credit cliffs. Second, the list itself is not fixed. The same ZIP opened through a promotional link on September 23 showed only 10 plans — no Apartment, Flextra, Truly Free Weekends, Prepaid, Power Savings 12 or Power Savings 2,000 kWh plans — at identical prices for the plans that overlapped. Enter your full address and answer the renter question honestly, then check the “See more options” list before you pick.
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What the Reliant Electricity Facts Labels say
The Electricity Facts Label (EFL) is the document that binds the price. We read the Oncor EFLs for Reliant’s three featured plans, each dated September 1, 2026, and checked every average against Oncor’s pass-through charges. All three reproduce to the tenth of a cent.
| EFL line | Power Savings 24 | Secure Advantage 24 | Get More, Save More 12 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy charge | 13.9674¢ per kWh | 11.3174¢ per kWh | 9.3699¢ (first 1,000 kWh), 7.3699¢ (above 1,000) |
| Base charge | $0.00 | None | $6.95 per month |
| Credit or usage charge | $75 credit when usage is 1,000 kWh or more | $9.95 usage charge below 800 kWh | None |
| Early termination fee | $295 | $295 | $150 |
| Renewable content | 22% (Texas average 37%) | 22% | 22% |
| EFL ID | R1F00191597812A | R1F00200112706A | R1F00191597944A |
Each EFL says the termination fee does not apply if you move and provide a forwarding address, and that the price can change only for changes in Oncor’s charges, ERCOT or Texas Regional Entity fees, or new laws and regulations. For the other 14 plans we worked from the plan cards and pricing details on shop.reliant.com; where we derive an energy charge below, it is calculated from those published averages rather than read from an EFL.
The Power Savings $75 credit cliff
Power Savings 24 has a 13.9674¢ energy charge and no base charge, then subtracts $75 in any month you use 1,000 kWh or more. That credit is why the plan advertises 12.9¢ at 1,000 kWh while charging 20.8¢ at 500 kWh.
The cliff is steep. At 1,000 kWh the bill is $129.03. At 999 kWh it is $203.83 — $74.80 more for using one kilowatt-hour less. Our sample Texas house (13,600 kWh a year) falls under 1,000 kWh in six of 12 months, so it earns the credit only half the year. A typical apartment earns it once, in August.
Power Savings 9 works the same way with a lower energy charge (about 12.96¢, derived from its card prices) and a $95 cancellation fee. Power Savings 12 shows exactly the same prices as Power Savings 24 with a $150 fee instead of $295. Power Savings 2,000 kWh 24 moves the cliff to 2,000 kWh with a $150 credit — a threshold our sample house never reaches.
Secure Advantage: a usage charge and $500 the EFL leaves out
Secure Advantage 24 is the opposite design: an 11.3174¢ energy charge with a $9.95 usage charge in months under 800 kWh. Most houses clear 800 kWh year-round, so the price is steady at about 17.8¢.
What the EFL average does not include is the loyalty payout. Reliant applies four separate $125 bill credits over the 24-month term, the first on your third bill, as long as you stay enrolled. Spread across the term, that is about $20.83 a month, which brings the effective 1,000-kWh price from 17.8¢ to roughly 15.7¢. Leave early and you forfeit the credits you have not received yet, and you pay the $295 fee.
Get More, Save More: a real tier, not a credit
Get More, Save More 12 charges 9.3699¢ for the first 1,000 kWh and 7.3699¢ above that, plus a $6.95 base charge. There is no cliff: every extra kWh past 1,000 is simply 2¢ cheaper. That makes it the most forgiving of Reliant’s high-usage plans, and it is why the plan looks best on the 2,000-kWh card (14.9¢).
What a real Texas year costs on each Reliant Energy plan
Single-month averages hide the credit cliffs, so we ran every Reliant Energy plan through the same 12-month profile we use for every Texas provider review: a 13,600-kWh house (800 to 1,800 kWh a month) and an 8,400-kWh apartment (500 to 1,000 kWh). Credit and usage-charge plans use their EFL formulas; the others follow each plan’s published 500-, 1,000- and 2,000-kWh prices. Time-of-use plans assume the usage share built into their averages, so treat those rows as best case.
| Reliant plan | 13,600 kWh house | 8,400 kWh apartment |
|---|---|---|
| Secure Advantage 12 | $2,061 | $1,371 |
| Secure Advantage 24 (with $500 credits, full term) | $2,158 | $1,335 |
| Get More, Save More 12 | $2,177 | $1,426 |
| Power Savings 9 | $2,181 | $1,569 |
| Apartment 9 | $2,193 | $1,368 |
| Get More, Save More 36 | $2,256 | $1,518 |
| Cowboys | $2,288 | $1,494 |
| Power Savings 12 / Power Savings 24 | $2,318 | $1,653 |
| Free Overnight 12 / Truly Free Weekends 12 (best case) | $2,328 | $1,459 |
| Apartment 12 | $2,329 | $1,452 |
| Secure Advantage 24 (before credits) | $2,408 | $1,585 |
| Clear Flex (variable, at today’s rate) | $2,560 | $1,662 |
| Solar Payback Match 12 (before solar credits) | $2,575 | $1,655 |
| Flextra Credits 24 | $2,600 | $1,627 |
| Power Savings 2,000 kWh 24 | $2,646 | $1,653 |
| Prepaid Power (variable, at today’s rate) | $2,695 | $1,686 |
The ranking flips the advertised order. Power Savings 9, the plan with the lowest 1,000-kWh price on the page, lands fourth for the house and in the bottom half for the apartment. Power Savings 24, which Reliant features at the top of the page, costs $257 a year more than Secure Advantage 12 for the same house because it misses the credit six months out of 12.
For renters, the gap is sharper. An apartment on Power Savings 24 pays about $1,653 a year; the same apartment on Apartment 9 pays about $1,368 — a $285 difference from choosing the plan built for low usage instead of the one with the lowest headline price.
Reliant Energy vs. Champion, Direct Energy, TXU and Discount Power
We price every Texas brand at the same ZIP with the same 13,600-kWh year. Here is Reliant Energy’s best plan against the best plan from each brand we have reviewed at ZIP 75078 this month.
| Best plan by brand (ZIP 75078) | Price at 1,000 kWh | Sample-year cost | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Champion Energy Champ Saver 6 | 13.1¢ | $1,780 | 6-month term; rolls to variable if you do nothing |
| Discount Power Wise Buy 9 | 13.2¢ | $1,842 | $9.95 usage charge under 1,000 kWh |
| Reliant Energy Secure Advantage 12 | 15.2¢ | $2,061 | $150 cancellation fee |
| Direct Energy Live Brighter 9/24 (Auto Pay) | 15.4¢ | $2,087 | $4.95 base charge; Auto Pay required for the discount |
| TXU Energy Simple Rate 12 | 16.6¢ | $2,239 | $9.95 base charge; $150 ETF |
Reliant Energy is not the cheapest brand at this ZIP, but its best plan is competitive with the other big-name providers: about $26 a year under Direct Energy’s best and $178 under TXU’s. Champion and Discount Power were $219 to $281 cheaper for the same house. Read our Champion Energy review and Direct Energy review for their full EFL breakdowns.
Which Reliant Energy plan should you pick?
If you are set on Reliant Energy, match the plan to how your usage actually moves across the year, not to the biggest number on the card.
- Most houses: Secure Advantage 12. No credit threshold to chase, a $150 cancellation fee and the lowest annual cost in our test.
- Houses that will stay two years: Secure Advantage 24, but only if you are confident you will stay the full term to collect all four $125 credits. Otherwise the 17.8¢ price and $295 fee make it one of the worst options.
- Apartments and low usage: Apartment 9. It avoids the credit cliff entirely, and its cancellation fee is only $10 for each month left.
- Big homes that never drop under 1,000 kWh: Get More, Save More 12. The cheaper tier above 1,000 kWh rewards high usage without a cliff.
- Solar owners: Solar Payback Match 12 credits your exported power at the real-time wholesale price. Its annual cost above is before those credits, so your result depends on how much you export.
Reliant Energy’s free nights, free weekends and Flextra plans
Reliant Energy sells three time-of-use style plans at this ZIP. Free Overnight 12 charges no energy charge and no usage-based delivery charges from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. Truly Free Weekends 12 is free from 8 p.m. Friday to 12 a.m. Monday. Both show the same averages — 17.2¢ at 1,000 kWh — and both lock in a higher daytime or weekday rate to pay for the free hours.
Those averages assume a share of your usage lands in the free window. If you cannot move laundry, dishwashing, EV charging and pool pumps into those hours, you pay the higher weekday rate on almost everything and the plan costs more than Secure Advantage 12. Flextra Credits 24 is 100% solar, makes your two highest-use days each week free and adds $200 in bill credits you apply in months you choose, but at 19.2¢ at 1,000 kWh and a $295 fee it was near the bottom of our annual ranking.
Reliant Energy’s 90-day satisfaction guarantee
Reliant Energy advertises a 90-day satisfaction guarantee on qualifying plans: if the plan you chose is not working, you can switch to another Reliant Energy plan within the first 90 days with no early termination fee. The fine print on the shop page says you can change plans without the penalty one time only, the offer does not restart once used, and you must sign a new term contract.
That is a useful safety net if you picked a Power Savings plan and your first bills show you missing the 1,000-kWh credit. It is not a free exit from Reliant: leaving for another provider inside the term still costs the plan’s cancellation fee. Separately, Texas rules give you three federal business days to cancel a switch without penalty.
Who should not pick Reliant Energy?
Reliant Energy has a deep plan list and strong support, but it is a weaker choice in four situations.
- You want the lowest price at this ZIP. Champion Energy’s no-base-charge plans and Discount Power’s Wise Buy 9 both came in $200 to $280 a year under Reliant’s best for the same house.
- Your usage swings around 1,000 kWh. The Power Savings credit is all-or-nothing. See how the same cliff works on the 4Change Energy review and TXU Energy review before betting a $75 month on your thermostat.
- You need prepaid service. Reliant Prepaid Power was the most expensive plan we priced at 19.9¢ at 1,000 kWh. Compare prepaid rates on the Payless Power review first.
- You want 100% renewable power cheaply. Most Reliant plans are 22% renewable against a 37% Texas average. Its 100% solar option, Flextra Credits 24, is one of its priciest; Green Mountain Energy, also NRG-owned, and Gexa Energy sell 100% renewable fixed plans.
Is Reliant Energy legit and a good provider?
Yes. Reliant Energy is a licensed Texas REP (PUCT #10007) owned by NRG Energy, with 24/7 phone and chat support and a large Texas customer base. Its shop page displays more than 5,000 five-star Google reviews.
The Public Utility Commission of Texas logged 340 complaints against Reliant Energy from March 1 to August 31, 2026, the most of any provider we track (TXU Energy had 277 and Direct Energy 101). Those are raw counts, not rates, and the PUCT does not publish customer totals beside them, so a provider as large as Reliant will naturally log more. The practical takeaway: Reliant is a safe, established company, and most complaints against Texas REPs involve billing — which is exactly where the credit cliffs above bite.
Where is Reliant Energy available, and how do you switch or cancel?
Reliant Energy serves the deregulated parts of Texas, including Oncor territory around Dallas–Fort Worth, CenterPoint around Houston, and AEP Texas and TNMP areas. It is not available in Austin, San Antonio, El Paso or most co-op areas. Prices and plan lists differ by utility, so enter your own address.
To switch, enroll online or call Reliant; it handles the switch with your current provider, and Reliant says you can sign up before 6 p.m. for same-day service when moving. To cancel, call customer care. A fixed plan’s cancellation fee applies if you leave before the term ends, unless you move and provide a forwarding address; Clear Flex and Prepaid Power have no cancellation fee.
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Reliant for business: how Reliant Business sells commercial electricity
Reliant, an NRG company, sells business electricity through Reliant Business with a small-business track and a large-business track. As of September 28, 2026 small-business plans are quoted by ZIP through an online form rather than listed, with 24/7 chat and phone support and online usage tracking through the business account; the plan names and energy charges sit behind the quote form. Because Reliant shares a parent with NRG Business, the Texas small-commercial terms NRG publishes are the closest public reference for how a Reliant business contract is structured: a per-meter base charge, TDSP delivery passed through without markup, and an early-termination fee of $250 per remaining month capped at 12. Ask for those three terms in writing with any Reliant quote.
| Business product | Price | Terms |
|---|---|---|
| Reliant Business — small business | Custom quote by ZIP | 24/7 support; online usage tracking |
| Reliant Business — large business | Custom quote | Account management; multi-site |
| Reference terms (NRG Business, same parent) | $4.95/meter base; TDSP pass-through; ETF $250 × remaining months (max 12) | Ask Reliant to confirm its own terms in writing |
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.
Reliant Energy FAQ
How much does Reliant Energy cost per kWh?
At ZIP 75078 (Oncor) on September 23, 2026, Reliant Energy plans ranged from 11.9¢ to 19.9¢ per kWh at 1,000 kWh, including Oncor delivery. The lowest price, Power Savings 9, depends on a $75 credit that only applies in months you use 1,000 kWh or more; without it, the plan is about 19.9¢.
What is the cheapest Reliant Energy plan?
Over a full year, Secure Advantage 12 was cheapest for a 13,600-kWh house at about $2,061. For an 8,400-kWh apartment, Apartment 9 (about $1,368) or Secure Advantage 24 with its four $125 loyalty credits (about $1,335 if you stay the full 24 months) came out lowest.
How does the Reliant Power Savings bill credit work?
Power Savings plans subtract $75 from your bill in any billing cycle where you use 1,000 kWh or more, and nothing below that. On Power Savings 24, a 1,000-kWh month costs $129.03 but a 999-kWh month costs $203.83.
Does Reliant Energy have a base charge?
It depends on the plan. Power Savings 24 has a $0.00 base charge, Get More, Save More 12 has a $6.95 monthly base charge, and Secure Advantage 24 has a $9.95 usage charge only in months under 800 kWh. Every plan also passes through Oncor’s $4.06 monthly customer charge.
What is Reliant Energy’s cancellation fee?
Fees at ZIP 75078 ranged from $95 (Power Savings 9) to $395 (Get More, Save More 36). Apartment plans charge $10 for each month left, and Clear Flex and Prepaid Power have none. The fee is waived if you move and provide a forwarding address.
What is Reliant’s 90-day satisfaction guarantee?
On qualifying plans, you can switch once to another Reliant Energy plan within the first 90 days without an early termination fee. It does not let you leave Reliant for another provider without the fee.
Who owns Reliant Energy?
Reliant Energy is owned by NRG Energy, which also owns Direct Energy, Green Mountain Energy and Cirro Energy in Texas.
Is Reliant Energy renewable?
Most Reliant Energy plans are 22% renewable, below the 37% statewide average printed on its EFLs. Flextra Credits 24 is sold as 100% solar, and Solar Payback Match 12 buys back excess power from customers with their own solar panels.
Does Reliant offer business electricity?
Yes. Reliant Business sells small-business and large-business electricity by custom quote as of September 28, 2026, with 24/7 support and online usage tracking; plan names and rates are behind the quote form. Its parent NRG publishes the Texas small-commercial terms that are the closest public reference.
Sources
- Reliant Energy and shop.reliant.com — plan cards, pricing details and fine print for ZIP 75078 (Oncor), September 23, 2026, viewed both with and without a promotional code.
- Reliant Energy Electricity Facts Labels, Oncor Electric Delivery, dated September 1, 2026: Power Savings 24 (R1F00191597812A), Secure Advantage 24 (R1F00200112706A), Get More, Save More 12 (R1F00191597944A).
- Public Utility Commission of Texas — Customer Complaint Statistics, March 1 to August 31, 2026.
- Champion Energy and Direct Energy Oncor EFLs, September 23, 2026; Discount Power and TXU Energy Oncor EFLs, September 21, 2026 (comparison figures).
- Power to Choose (PUCT plan comparison site) and Oncor Electric Delivery pass-through charges: $4.06 per month and 6.0295¢ per kWh.
Keep going
- Champion Energy review: six no-base-charge plans priced from the EFLs
- Direct Energy review: all 15 Oncor plans priced from the EFLs
- TXU Energy review
- 4Change Energy review: the $125 bill-credit cliff explained
- Gexa Energy review
- Green Mountain Energy review
- Compare Texas electricity plans
- How to read an Electricity Facts Label
- Why is my energy bill so high?
