Due to how competitive the electricity market is in Texas, there are over 140 retail electric providers. Retail electric providers (REPs) are companies that purchase electricity at wholesale price from power generating plants and sell it to customers at retail value. They’re the power companies you buy electricity from and send your monthly utility bill to.

Payless Power is one of these many REPs that operate in and around Texas. Like all REPs, they offer quality electricity at a competitive rate. However, before you get excited and lock yourself into a long-term plan with Payless Power, you should contact us at EnerGenie to find out if they’re right for you. Remember, there are over 140 other companies just like Payless, and choosing the right one is no small task.

While many of the retail electric providers in Texas formed in 2001 or 2002 after Texas deregulated their electricity, Payless Power was formed in 2005. It was founded by a trio of brothers with a mission to provide affordable electricity to Texans that didn’t have many other options. Payless is based out of Fort Worth and works with Utility Choice to provide residential and commercial electricity plans.

Although Payless Power started exclusively offering prepaid plans, they now offer fixed-rate options to their customers. They’re a straightforward company that prides itself on simple plans and no hidden fees or rates. Here are the two basic plans that Payless Power offers.

With Payless Powers prepaid monthly Easy Choice plan, you pay for your electricity at the start of the month. The Easy Choice plan is a Payless Power classic and their most popular plan because it is easy and convenient to sign up for. Prepaid plans like Easy Choice don’t require a credit check, a deposit, or an ID, which means anyone can sign up for them.

However, the downside of the Easy Choice plan is that rates are usually slightly higher with prepaid plans than with fixed-rate plans. The current rate for the Easy Choice plan, for example, is roughly .5 cents/kWh higher than Payless Powers’ fixed-rate plan. Depending on where you’re located, you could pay anywhere from 17 cents/kWh to 21 cents/kWh for the Easy Choice plan from Payless Power.

The second and newest plan that Payless Power offers is the Premier 12 plan. Premier 12 is a fixed-rate electricity plan with a 12-month contract. This means that the electricity rate you sign up for will remain the same until the end of your contract. However, you still aren’t required to pass a credit check or make a deposit, and you’ll still pay for electricity at the beginning of each month.

While the rate you sign up at is the price you’ll pay for 12 months, the Premier 12 plan has tiered rates. Let’s use the current electricity rates in Fort Worth as an example. If you sign up for the Premier 12 plan at the current rate of 18.9 cents/kWh, this rate only applies if you use more than 2,000 kilowatts of electricity.

If you use between 1,000 and 2,000, your rate jumps up to 19.2 cents/kWh, and if you use less than 1,000 kilowatts, your rate jumps to 20.2 cents/kWh. Each of these rates is fixed and won’t change, but it’s essential to know your monthly energy usage before signing up for a plan with Payless Power.

Payless Power serves over 400 communities throughout Texas, including five of its major cities: Dallas, Houston, Fort Worth, Corpus Christi, and Waco. To find out if they’re available in your area and find the best possible rates with them, contact us at EnerGenie. We’ll find out if Payless Power is indeed the best company for you.

Here are a few of the unique things about Payless Power that make them different from many other retail electric providers.

• They offer prepaid plans.

Unlike many other companies in Texas, Payless Power offers prepaid plans almost exclusively. This gives them an advantage in that you don’t need a credit check or ID to sign up with Payless. It also makes it easy to budget for your electricity as long as you know how much you plan to use.

• Same day service

In most parts of Texas, when you sign up with Payless Power, you’ll have electrical service connected the same day. However, this only applies if you sign up by 4 PM on any business day.

• Very few hidden fees or charges

Payless Power also prides itself on not having an abundance of hidden fees or charges. They have a $99 early termination fee, a $75 connection fee, and a delivery fee that they figure into your monthly bill. While these fees are stated in their terms of service and plan information sections, it’s difficult to spot them unless you know what to look for and where to look.

• Solid customer service

Another thing that Payless Power prides itself on is its customer service. They have bilingual customer service staff on hand to help all their customers. However, no matter how good it is, dealing with customer service can be tricky and a headache. When you sign up for your electricity plan with EnerGenie, we handle any customer service problems for you.