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USAHow to Choose Your Energy Plan
Energy choice means people can shop around to pick the right plan, rate and provider to supply energy to their home. Direct Energy is proud to offer tips and tools to consumers so they can find the right plan for them.
Areas We Serve
Find the Perfect Plan for Your Lifestyle!
Click your state to get more tips on how you can shop for electricity in your area and find the best plan for you. Explore common billing terms, how to read plan documents, how to sign up and more.
If you do not see your state, please contact your local utility.
Areas We Serve
Find the Perfect Plan for Your Lifestyle!
Click your state to get more tips on how you can shop for natural gas in your area and find the best plan for you. Explore common billing terms, how to read plan documents, how to sign up and more.
If you do not see your state, please contact your local utility.
Things To Consider When Shopping For Energy
How Do I Sign Up for Energy?
You can sign up for energy in just a few steps:
1
Create an account with your utility
If you haven't already, you'll need to create an account with your local utility. Unless you're moving, you should already have an account. If you live in Texas, you can skip this step.
2
Under contract with your current provider?
Check whether you are under contract with your current provider. If you are, make sure you won't be charged an early termination fee if you switch providers before your contract ends.
3
Have your utility bill on hand
Have a recent utility bill on hand, as you'll need your utility account information to enroll with a competitive provider. If you're moving and haven't received a bill yet, you can contact your utility for this information. If you live in Texas, you can skip this step too!
4
Shop for your perfect plan
Shop for the electricity plan that fits your needs. After you sign up, your new provider will contact your local utility (or your current provider, if you live in Texas) to complete the process.
Glossary of Terms
Here are a few terms you'll see when shopping for an electricity or natural gas plan:
Deregulation
In deregulated areas, customers are no longer required to sign up with their utility for electricity or natural gas. Instead, they can shop offerings from available competitive energy providers to find the best one for their household.
Utility
Your local utility is responsible for transmitting, distributing, connecting and disconnecting energy to your home, and for reading and maintaining your home's electric or gas meters. The utility also maintains the power lines, pipe lines and other equipment used to transmit electricity and/or natural gas. In some deregulated areas, your utility may compete on the electricity and/or natural gas market, selling its own plans to customers.
Competitive Provider
Retail or competitive providers vie to provide energy to customers. In areas with deregulated electricity and/or natural gas, customers can shop and compare electricity and/or natural gas plans from various retail providers, like Direct Energy.
Units of consumption
There are a few different units used to measure your energy consumption. Depending on the units of measurement your utility uses, you'll likely see one of the following on your bill:
- kWh: A kilowatt-hour is the unit used to measure electricity usage. It represents the consumption of one kilowatt, or 1,000 watts, for one hour.
- MCF: A unit equivalent to one thousand cubic feet of natural gas.
- CCF: A unit equivalent to one hundred cubic feet of natural gas.
- THERM: A unit equivalent to 100,000 British Thermal Units (BTUs). A BTU is the amount of heat required to increase the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit.
Rate per unit
The rate per unit is the price you pay for each unit of energy you use (usually measured in kWh, MCFs, CCFs or Therms). This price is set by your retail energy provider.
Fixed-Rate Plan
With a fixed-rate plan, you'll be able to lock in an energy rate per kWh for a term length of your choosing. Fixed-rate plans protect you from market price fluctuations, but you will typically need to sign a contract and your rate may be higher than the market rate during seasons with low energy demand.
What is the Average Energy Bill?
Your electricity and natural gas bills can vary based on many factors, so it can be difficult to determine what an average bill looks like. The best way to calculate your average energy bill is to look at your past bills. If you're moving to a different home or region, you can get an idea of your average costs by researching similar homes online or asking your future neighbors. The average energy bill depends on the following elements:
Home Size
Smaller homes typically use less energy than larger homes because less energy is needed to run lights, heating and cooling and other appliances and electronics.
Weather & Climate
Some regions tend to experience a mild climate and pleasant seasonal temperatures, taking some of the workload - and energy usage - off a home's air conditioner and heating system; residents of regions with more extreme temperature swings may need to use these systems more to maintain a comfortable indoor climate.
Usage Habits
If you develop energy-saving habits like turning back your AC or heating, unplugging electronics or reducing gas stove or oven use, you might have a lower bill than if you were less conscious of your usage.
Appliance Efficiency
Your heating, cooling and large appliances are major energy users, accounting for up to 73 percent of the average household's energy use. Appliance efficiency and regular maintenance can affect how much energy your appliances use.
Home Energy Efficiency
Factors like windows and insulation can affect how your home uses energy. Well-sealed windows and good insulation can help your air conditioner and heating system use less energy by keeping the treated air inside your home and the hot or cold air out.
Rate
Obviously, the price you pay per kWh or unit of gas will also affect your bill.
Pricing, Billing & Fees
How does billing work?
You will typically receive your energy bill from your provider every 28-32 days, depending on when your local utility reads your electric and/or gas meter. Your bill includes the energy charge for your usage and operational costs (charged by your local utility) associated with providing energy to your home.
If you are a Direct Energy customer and you live outside of Texas or Ohio, you will still receive your bill directly from your local utility. You will usually see Direct Energy as a line item on your bill under "supply" or "generation services."
Payment Options
If you live in Texas, you can pay your Direct Energy bill using a variety of convenient payment options:
- Log in to your Online Account Manager to pay with a saved payment method or create a new one.
- Make a one-time online payment.
- Pay in person at a location near you.
- Download your Direct Energy Mobile Wallet to your smartphone's wallet app to get quick access to all the above payment options.
If you live outside of Texas, you will usually pay your electricity and/or natural gas bill through your local utility, even if you have opted to receive energy from a competitive supplier like Direct Energy. Contact your utility for more information on your payment options.
How much will my bill be?
Your electric and/or natural gas bill amount will vary based primarily on your usage. There are two major parts to your bill: the charges for the energy you use in your home and your utility or delivery charges, which cover the operational costs of delivering energy to your home. The utility charges are the same for all residents in that utility's service area. You can calculate your bill by adding up these costs.
Learn more about how to calculate your electric bill.
Understanding Prices and Plan Documents
State regulations may require electric and natural gas suppliers to create and display documents detailing information for each of their plans. These documents provide vital insights like the rate, term length, fees and other stipulations. You can use them as tool to help you compare potential costs of a plan against your current bills, and also against other energy plans you may be considering.
In Texas, the Electricity Facts Label (EFL) is required by the Public Utility Commission of Texas as a means of providing the details of electricity plans sold in the state. On an EFL, you'll find the term length, electricity price, whether there is an early termination fee, the rate type and other vital plan information.
On each plan's EFL, you will see a chart that lists the average price for usage of 500, 1,000 and 2,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of usage. The best way to use this chart is to compare your average usage from previous bills to the amounts listed in the chart.
Moving Tips
Are you moving to a new home?
Check out our Moving Hub for moving checklists, buying and renting guides, moving out of state and other tips on how you can have a stress-free move.
Smart Meters
Smart electric meters are becoming the new standard in electric metering. They provide valuable benefits like the ability to turn on electricity more quickly and track your use more closely, and the opportunity to sign up for time-of-use electric plans, which allow you to get free electricity at certain times.
Renewing With Direct Energy
What About Renewing?
Before your contract expires, we'll notify you of the next plan options according to the terms listed in your agreement.
Current Customers
If you're a current Direct Energy customer looking to renew with us, you can view renewal plans by logging into your Online Account Manager or contacting us.
Ready to Shop?
Now that you're a savvier energy consumer, are you ready to find your perfect plan? Enter your zip code to check out our offers for your area.
