What is a usage-credit electricity plan?

The retailer applies a bill credit when monthly kWh lands in a band — often around 1,000 kWh. Miss the band and the advertised average can disappear.

Why can the 1,000 kWh column lie?

Shopping sites sort on the middle EFL column. Credits are frequently engineered to make that column look cheap. At 500 or 2,000 kWh the same plan can be one of the most expensive.

How do I compare a credit plan honestly?

Read all three EFL columns plus the credit threshold, then compare all-in cost at your actual usage — not the sort-default.

Is this the same as prepaid?

No. Usage credits are a pricing design on a billed plan. Prepaid / pay-as-you-go is a different product. See /no-deposit and /pay-as-you-go.

Usage Credit Plans

Bill credits can make 1,000 kWh look cheap.

A usage credit is not free money. It is a threshold baked into the Electricity Facts Label so the middle column wins the sort. If your home misses that band, the “cheap” plan can be the expensive one. Enter your ZIP — we will not invent competitor cents.

The 1,000 kWh trap

The column that shopping sites sort on.

Texas EFLs must show an average price at 500, 1,000, and 2,000 kWh. Brokers and Power to Choose default to the middle number. Retailers know that. A bill credit that unlocks near 1,000 kWh can drop that column while 500 kWh (apartments, mild months) and 2,000 kWh (Texas summer) stay expensive.

How to read a usage-credit plan — structure dated September 9, 2026. Live ¢/kWh requires your ZIP.
Monthly usage	What often happens	Live ¢/kWh
500 kWh	Credit may not apply; base charges dominate	Enter ZIP
1,000 kWh	Credit often unlocks — this is the advertised column	Enter ZIP
2,000 kWh	Credit can dilute; summer AC lives here	Enter ZIP

As of September 9, 2026 we do not type sample Gexa / NRG / TXU cents. Why the three columns jump.

FAQ

Usage credits, answered honestly.

The retailer applies a bill credit when monthly kWh lands in a band — often around 1,000 kWh. Miss the band and the advertised average can disappear.
Shopping sites sort on the middle EFL column. Credits are frequently engineered to make that column look cheap. At 500 or 2,000 kWh the same plan can be one of the most expensive.
Read all three EFL columns plus the credit threshold, then compare all-in cost at your actual usage — not the sort-default.
No. Usage credits are a pricing design on a billed plan. Prepaid / pay-as-you-go is a different product. See no-deposit and pay-as-you-go.

Bill credits can make 1,000 kWh look cheap.

The column that shopping sites sort on.

Compare at your real usage

Usage credits, answered honestly.

Keep reading

Check the credit against your kWh.