Great if your usage fits

Free Nights & Weekends Electricity Plans in Texas

Free nights and free weekends plans are time-of-use plans, which make electricity free or cheaper during set hours and charge more the rest of the time. If your heavy usage already lands in the free hours, the savings can be real. If it doesn't, you'll likely pay more than on a simple fixed-rate plan.

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The basics

How Time-of-Use Plans Work

A time-of-use plan splits the day, or the week, into cheaper and pricier hours. What you pay depends on when your home uses electricity, not only how much.

  • The free hours

    A set window, such as overnight or all weekend, when the energy charge is free or discounted.

  • The rest of the time

    A higher energy rate than most simple fixed-rate plans. This is how the provider pays for the free hours.

  • What's usually still charged

    Utility delivery charges, any monthly base charge, and taxes. A few plans also waive delivery charges during the free hours.

  • The advertised rate

    Based on the provider's own guess of how much of your usage falls in the cheap hours. Use more in those hours and you pay less than it shows. Use less and you pay more.

Why the hours matter

The cost of electricity on the Texas grid changes every hour. It's usually lowest overnight, when demand is light, and highest on hot afternoons and evenings, when everyone is running AC and solar power fades. Time-of-use plans pass some of that difference on to you. Using less at peak times lowers your bill and eases strain on the grid when it's most stretched.

When a plan's cheap hours line up with the grid and with how your home uses electricity, the savings can be real. Many plans don't do that. Some, like free weekends, are built more to look good in an ad than to achieve any cost or usage savings.

Your options

Free Nights, Free Weekends and Other Time-of-Use Plans

Each kind moves the free or cheap hours to a different part of the week. The best one is the one that matches when your home already uses the most electricity.

Free Nights

Who it may fit: Households that run laundry, dishwashers, pool pumps, and EV charging overnight.

Watch for: Daytime rates are usually higher to pay for it, which hurts work-from-home or daytime AC loads.

Free Weekends

Who it may fit: Families who are home and active on weekends and lighter users Monday–Friday.

Watch for: Only helps if your usage genuinely concentrates on Saturday and Sunday.

Free Days

Who it may fit: Homes with solar gaps or daytime occupancy who still want a free block.

Watch for: Evening and overnight usage is charged at a higher rate to offset it.

EV-Optimized Plans

Who it may fit: EV owners who can schedule charging for the cheapest overnight hours.

Watch for: Requires discipline. Charge at the wrong hours and the savings evaporate.

Good to know

Many of the best plans for EV owners aren't marketed as EV plans. They're free nights plans that reward overnight charging. See our EV plans guide.

Read the label

How a Time-of-Use Plan Looks on the EFL

Every time-of-use plan's Electricity Facts Label lists its cheap hours, the rate outside them, and the share of usage the provider assumed would fall in the cheap hours. That assumption drives the advertised price, and each provider picks its own.

  • Chariot Energy

    Bright Nights 12

    Cheap hours

    Free energy 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Delivery charges still apply.

    Rest of the day

    6.48¢ per kWh

    Assumed in cheap hours35%
    Advertised at 1,000 kWh12.2¢/kWh

  • Reliant

    Free Overnight 12

    Cheap hours

    Free energy and delivery 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.

    Rest of the day

    19.42¢ per kWh

    Assumed in cheap hours32%
    Advertised at 1,000 kWh18.1¢/kWh

  • Rhythm

    PowerShift 12

    Cheap hours

    No free hours. 4.70¢ per kWh off-peak, most of the day.

    Rest of the day

    14.18¢ per kWh from 6 to 10 p.m. (9.22¢ on winter mornings)

    Assumed in cheap hours77%
    Advertised at 1,000 kWh14.3¢/kWh

CenterPoint (Houston) area. From each plan's EFL, dated September and October 2026. Energy rates shown before delivery charges. Prices change; check the current EFL before you enroll.

Why it matters

The advertised price only holds if your home matches the provider's assumption. On the Reliant plan, if 20% of your usage falls overnight instead of 32%, you'd pay about 21.3¢ per kWh at 1,000 kWh, not 18.1¢. Check your own usage before you compare advertised prices.

Today's prices

Today's Lowest Time-of-Use Plans

The lowest time-of-use plans in the Houston area today, including free nights and free weekends plans. Each price uses the provider's own assumption about how much usage falls in the free or cheap hours, so what you actually pay depends on your home.

  • Chariot EnergyGrade B

    Bright Nights 12 · 12 months · View EFL

    500 kWh13.8¢/kWh
    1,000 kWh12.3¢/kWh
    2,000 kWh11.6¢/kWh

  • Chariot EnergyGrade B

    Bright Nights 24 · 24 months · View EFL

    500 kWh14.2¢/kWh
    1,000 kWh12.7¢/kWh
    2,000 kWh12.0¢/kWh

  • Chariot EnergyGrade B

    Bright Nights 36 · 36 months · View EFL

    500 kWh14.5¢/kWh
    1,000 kWh13.0¢/kWh
    2,000 kWh12.3¢/kWh

  • Champion EnergyGrade A-

    Free Weekends-24 · 24 months · View EFL

    500 kWh14.0¢/kWh
    1,000 kWh13.5¢/kWh
    2,000 kWh13.2¢/kWh

  • TXU EnergyGrade C

    Free Nights & Cool Summer 12 · 12 months · View EFL

    500 kWh19.4¢/kWh
    1,000 kWh17.9¢/kWh
    2,000 kWh17.2¢/kWh

CenterPoint (Houston) area, ZIP 77002. Lowest-priced time-of-use plans at 1,000 kWh, 12-month or longer terms, average price with delivery charges included. Updated November 13, 2026. Grades are from our provider reviews. Check each plan's free hours on its EFL.

Today's market

At 1,000 kWh, using the provider's assumed usage pattern, the lowest time-of-use plan costs 12.3¢ per kWh, compared with 11.7¢ for the lowest simple fixed-rate plan. A time-of-use plan only comes out ahead when enough of your usage moves into its free hours.
Compare simple fixed-rate plans

Your home

Who Time-of-Use Plans Work For

The right time-of-use plan fits the way your home already runs. If you'd have to change your routine to make it work, a simple fixed-rate plan is usually the safer choice.

Can make sense if

  • You charge an EV overnight
  • Laundry, dishwasher or pool pump can run in the free hours
  • Your home is empty most weekdays
  • You've checked when your home actually uses electricity

Usually not a fit if

  • You work from home
  • Your AC runs hard through summer afternoons
  • Most of your usage happens in the evening before the free hours start
  • You'd rather not plan your usage around the clock

A real example

Two of our writers use Chariot Bright Nights. They own EVs and charge overnight, during the plan's free hours. It isn't marketed as an EV plan, but it works well for overnight charging.

Personal example only. This is not a paid endorsement or advertisement for Chariot. Read our Chariot Energy review.

Before you enroll

How To Check a Time-of-Use Plan

Most people pick a time-of-use plan based on a guess about when they use electricity. Your Smart Meter Texas data shows the real answer.

  1. 01

    Download Your Smart Meter Texas Data

    Your smart meter records usage in 15-minute intervals, and the data is free.

  2. 02

    See When Your Home Uses Electricity

    The data shows the hours your home actually uses the most, not when you think it does.

  3. 03

    Compare It With the Plan's Free Hours

    Check the free window and the rate outside it on the Electricity Facts Label.

  4. 04

    Compare the Yearly Total

    If enough of your usage lands in the free hours, a time-of-use plan can save you money. If not, a fixed-rate plan is usually the better choice.

We can check it for you

Share your Smart Meter Texas usage and we'll see how much of it lands in each plan's free hours, then recommend the plan that fits how your home uses electricity.
Get a personalized recommendation

Questions

Free Nights and Time-of-Use Plans FAQ

Keep exploring

Other Electricity Plan Types

See how time-of-use plans compare with the other plan types on the Texas Electricity Plans page, or read our guide to choosing an electricity plan.

Personalized electricity guidance

Find Out If a Free Nights Plan Fits Your Home

Share your usage and we'll check how much of it lands in the free hours, then compare time-of-use and fixed-rate plans for your home.

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