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Direct Energy Free Power Weekends
Direct Energy Free Power Weekends is one of two offers from Direct Energy advertising free electricity during certain times of the week.
If you’re reading this, you probably heard or saw an ad from Direct Energy promoting this plan and are wondering if it is right for your home.
We broke down the details and have some tips to help you make an informed energy decision for your household.
Is Direct Energy Free Power Weekends right for me?
For most people, “free-time” electricity plans don’t make sense because they cost more yearly than standard fixed-rate plans.
With energy at high prices, Direct Energy Free Power Weekends could save you money with a shift in your usage.
If you can hold off until the weekend for things like laundry that consume high electricity, this plan is designed to save you money each week.
Important: Direct Energy includes the free weekend usage discount in the advertised rate for this plan. You will NOT see an added discount on your electricity usage and MUST shift at least 31% of your usage to the weekend to get the advertised rate.
Free electricity could help your bills, but you need to shop with your home’s actual electricity usage to make sure Direct Energy Free Power Weekends is a good choice for you.
Before buying into the advertising hype, input your electricity usage here on ComparePower, and we’ll show you a detailed pricing breakdown for every plan.
Compare Direct Energy Free Power Weekends pricing with fixed-rate plans, so you know which will help you save the most on electricity throughout the year.
The number one rule in finding the right power plan is to understand your usage. This 2-minute video that explains everything you need to know ⤵️
Quickly determine if Direct Energy Free Power Weekends is right for your home with your kilowatt-hour usage👇
Note: The easiest way to get 12 months of usage history is to log into your provider dashboard. You can also create an account with Smart Meter Texas to get usage readings for your home in 15-minute intervals.
What is Direct Energy Free Power Weekends?
Direct Energy Free Power Weekends is a “time-of-use” plan. With time-of-use plans, you get a discount, or even free electricity, during certain times of the day or year.
These discounts can stack up to actual savings, but only if you can shift your usage to the times when you are getting a discount.
With Free Power Weekends, Direct Energy offers free electricity on the weekends. From Friday at 6 pm through Sunday at 11:59 pm, the energy charge on your bill is discounted to zero.
You can use as much electricity as you want, without worrying about a high electric bill at the end of the month.
Direct Energy offers both a 12-month and 24-month contract to get free electricity on the weekends for an extended period.
With the 12-month contract, Direct Energy offers a discount on your energy charge if you sign up for autopay.
How does Direct Energy Free Power Weekends work?
Direct Energy Free Power Weekends is a time-of-use plan, meaning you get discount electricity during certain times throughout the year.
Free Power Weekends was created to give you free electricity on the weekends to help you budget for electricity and cut down on your bills.
Weekend discount
From 6 pm on Friday through 11:59 pm on Sunday, Direct Energy discounts your electricity.
Important: This discount only applies to the energy charge on your bill.
On the weekends, Direct Energy cuts the energy charge of your bill to zero, and the TDU charges are not passed on to you.
How much does Direct Energy Free Power Weekends cost?
At the time of writing, Direct Energy listed Free Power Weekends at 26.3 cents per kWh at 1000 kWh monthly usage in the Oncor service area, which includes the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.
This price includes a 0.5 cent per kWh discount for signing up for autopay. If you do not sign up for autopay, Direct Energy advertises Free Power Weekends at 26.5 cents per kWh at 1000 kWh monthly usage.
A base fee of $4.95 is charged monthly regardless of your electricity usage.
Important: Direct Energy includes the discounts in the advertised 26.3 cents per kWh price for the Oncor area. You will NOT see an additional discount on your electricity usage.
No one uses 1000 kWh every month, and your usage will vary, affecting the rate you pay.
If you are considering signing up for Direct Energy Free Power Weekends, make sure you shop with your home’s actual usage to see if you will benefit from the discount.
Average Texan
Are you similar to the average Texan? According to eia.gov, the average Texan paid 12.8 cents per kWh for electricity in 2021.
With average usage of 1,132 kWh per month, the average Texas electricity bill would be right around $144.90 each month.
With the weather in Texas swinging each season, your usage and electricity bill can change as quickly as the weather.
Remember that these average numbers are taken from statewide data and that your usage could be drastically different based on the size and age of your home, your appliances, and your electricity usage habits.
Free Power Weekends
Compared to the Texas average, Direct Energy Free Power Weekends is more expensive at 26.3 cents per kWh advertised at 1000 kWh usage.
At 1,132 kWh of usage, your average monthly bill with Direct Energy Free Power Weekends would be $296.93.
That’s almost 105% more than the average Texan paid last year for their electricity bills.
Your electricity bill could be even more expensive, especially if you can’t shift at least 31% of your electricity usage to the weekend.
Other fees
You’ll find a Base and TDU delivery charge alongside your energy charge on your bill.
Direct Energy collects a base charge of $4.95 regardless of your monthly electricity usage.
The TDU charge depends on which company services the area that you live in. The TDU charge for the Oncor area, covering the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area, is currently 3.89 cents per kWh. Oncor also collects a base charge of $3.42 each month.
Direct Energy Free Power Weekends also has an early termination fee of $150 for the 12-month contract and $295 for the 24-month contract.
Before signing up, make sure you shop with your home’s unique usage profile to avoid high bills and the need to end your contract early.
Digging into the Terms of Service, Direct Energy lists additional fees for late payments, returned payments, collection recovery, disconnect recovery, and any payments made with the help of customer support agents.
If you regularly need help with payments, you might consider a different electricity plan to avoid these fees.
Are you getting free electricity?
You might wonder if there is any catch for getting the weekends free with Direct Energy Free Power Weekends.
Most providers offer free electricity plans and pass on TDU charges to you for that time. It seems like you are getting that electricity for free, but you still end up paying for your usage during the free periods.
Compared to other free nights and weekends plans, Direct Energy’s Free Power Weekends stands out because the electricity is actually free on the weekends.
Direct Energy discounts your energy charge to zero during the weekends and does not pass on TDU charges.
Direct Energy does charge a base fee of $4.95 each month, so even if all your usage was during your free time, you would still have to pay a small amount.
Overall, Direct Energy Free Power Weekends is one of the few free nights and weekends plans that offer up truly free electricity usage during the weekends.
Direct Energy Free Power Weekends alternatives
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