Texas Tesla Owners - Charging Costs

[kbedrich]

Interested in what others in Texas do to keep their charging costs low.

I've looked at free nights plans, but for now have a fixed rate plan with the same price per kWh all day. My wife and I both work from home and didn't want to pay the higher price during the day. What type of electricity plan are you on? And what provider do you recommend?

(New member -- I'm in Houston, where we have deregulated electricity. Tesla S owner, one of the first 50 in Houston)

 

[kwellmey]

MP2 energy has a really good plan for EVs without gouging you during peak /normal hours. Must charge between 12am-3am

 

[garrett5688]

Free nights pairs well with solar.

most often your best bet is to find the cheapest fixed rate plan, and switching providers each contract term.

 

[GTi_roadkill]

Cheapest fixed rate plan is simplest. I always charge at night anyway just to be nicer to the apparently fragile grid. Switch plans every contract period keeps the price down. I always specify 100% renewable just to shut up the fossil fuel mouths that want to yap about the coal burning used for my electricity.

 

[rameshratan]

Cheapest fixed rate plan is simplest. I always charge at night anyway just to be nicer to the apparently fragile grid. Switch plans every contract period keeps the price down. I always specify 100% renewable just to shut up the fossil fuel mouths that want to yap about the coal burning used for my electricity.

MP2 Energy has a good plan. About 11.3 cents/kWh

https://signup.mp2energy.com/users_documents/legal_documents-a790795afb9d8b64066bacc08edc975d-8.pdf?act=isnewdoc

 

[MontyFloyd]

MP2 energy has a really good plan for EVs without gouging you during peak /normal hours. Must charge between 12am-3am

How generous (/sarcasm)

 

[Lasttoy]

I love my solar panels.
Power company hates me.

 

[EVer Hopeful]

What type of electricity plan are you on? And what provider do you recommend?

Remember Electricity companies run reverse-loyalty programs, meaning they give better deals to new customers than they do to existing customers. Silly really but that's how it is

In response I wait until the plan is about to expire then I go to power to choose dot org and look for a replacement plan. We should ALL do this, but they rely on us being lazy and falling for their "tease and squeeze" tactics

As for free nights (and 3 hours isn't really that much use tbh), if you work out how much MORE it costs for the rest of the day, you might find that you're better off ignoring those plans

for instance powertochose dot org currently has the MP2 plans (a Shell Oil subsidiary btw) at 11.1c (including the Oncor pass-through) for the 36 month plan though it IS 100% renewable, but that's not the "free hours" one. I went to their website and I CANNOT find the Electricity Facts Label for that plan, which is ... a little telling

Gexa has a similar 100% renewable plan at 10.8c for 24 months with no free hours

Clean Sky has 10.9c, 100%, no hours and 24 months



So I recommend looking at powertochoose dot org and there are similar other sites too like electricityplans.com, though I know NOTHING about that site



...and I did a search on MP2 ev plan rates and got this:

Best EV Charging Plan in Houston Area

Provider	Plan Name	Rate/kWh
Pulse Power	Free Energy Nights 36	12.7 ¢
MP2 Energy	EV Free Charging Plan 24	13.1 ¢
Pulse Power	Free Energy Nights 12	13.7 ¢
MP2 Energy	EV Free Charging Plan 12	13.9 ¢

 

[MontyFloyd]

Remember Electricity companies run reverse-loyalty programs, meaning they give better deals to new customers than they do to existing customers. Silly really but that's how it is

Good stuff to know

 

[OrbiterTI4]

I've been on the Green Mountain Free Nights plan for two+ years (actually 100% free, they cover the transmission fees for 8 pm - 6 am) and tracked what the other fixed rate plans I was considering at renewal would have cost for the same use. In my anecdotal case, I've saved roughly $1k a year. Averaged 4.9 cents/kWh 2019-2020, then 5.5 in 2020-2021 due to work from home.

Full disclosure: I don't have a pool that would need a pump running, have two ACs that are scheduled to stay at higher temps before 8 pm, and an electric dryer that I try to run only at night. I only considered companies rated as 3 stars or above on PowerToChoose.org, as the last time I chose a 1/2 star company, it folded after I had signed up but before my contract had started.

 

[darrelld]

Free nights pairs well with solar.

most often your best bet is to find the cheapest fixed rate plan, and switching providers each contract term.

I have free nights with 11kw solar +3 Powerwalls on Green Mountain Energy. Model Y and Model 3 charge during the free time.