Edited by Rafael Morales | Last updated:
Compare the best Free Weekends electricity plans in Texas and review each plan’s specific free usage schedule. We analyze the fine print in the Electricity Facts Label (EFL) to help you understand truly free vs. discount weekend plans, so you can find the best fit for your home based on your usage pattern and the latest available rates.
Free Weekends electricity plans cover only free or discount hours during the weekend. This is different from Free Nights plans, which apply only during nighttime hours each day. If you are looking for Free Nights plans, follow this link: Best Free Nights plans.
Before you enroll in a Free Weekends electricity plan, you need to understand 2 important parameters in the Electricity Facts Label (EFL) that are part of almost every Free Weekends plan:
This tells you exactly when weekend power is free or discounted. This is critical. Some plans start on Friday evening, while others start on Saturday. Some end on Sunday night, while others continue into Monday morning. The broader and earlier the weekend window starts, the easier it is to shift usage and benefit from the plan.
This tells you whether TDU delivery charges are included during the free weekend window (usually around 6 cents/kWh). If TDU is not charged during weekend free hours, we call the plan Truly Free. If TDU is still charged, we call it Discount. Which is better depends on your usage pattern: Truly Free plans often have higher weekday energy rates, while Discount plans are usually more stable. Unlike Free Nights plans, solar homes usually do not benefit from Free Weekends plans, so there is no guarantee that a Truly Free weekend plan will perform better than a Discount plan. The result depends on a combination of weekday energy rates and the exact free weekend window.
Tip: See the FAQs below for key details about Free Weekend plans (delivery charges, hours, and fees).
In Texas, air conditioning and heating often run all week, not just on weekends. If your thermostat is set low during weekdays, those kWh are billed at the higher non-free rate on a Free Weekends plan—this can outweigh any savings from shifting laundry or dishwashing to Saturday and Sunday.
Some plans start the free window on Friday evening, others on Saturday at midnight, and some extend through late Sunday night—or into Monday morning. Always confirm the exact days and hours in the EFL so you know when energy is truly free or discounted.
The only reliable way to compare Free Weekends vs. True Fixed plans is to use your real hourly usage. Clear Energy Facts lets you plug in your Smart Meter Texas (SMT) data and simulate how much you would have paid under each plan.
If you travel during the week or work long hours away from home, and most of your cooking, laundry, and TV time happens Saturday and Sunday, a Free Weekends plan can sometimes work in your favor—especially if you still keep weekday HVAC usage under control.
We’ll use your ZIP only to find the Transmission & Distribution Utility (TDU) for your address.
Free Weekends rates in Dallas–Fort Worth & North/Central Texas
DFW & North/Central TX — Dallas–Fort Worth, Arlington, Waco, Midland–Odessa
Highest review scores among companies with at least one eligible Free Days & Weekends plan.
Cleansky Energy
From 17.0¢ @ 1000 kWh
1 eligible plans
Champion Energy
From 14.2¢ @ 1000 kWh
1 eligible plans
Atlantex Power
From 13.6¢ @ 1000 kWh
3 eligible plans
Gexa Energy
From 17.4¢ @ 1000 kWh
1 eligible plans
Infuse Energy
From 15.5¢ @ 1000 kWh
3 eligible plans
Compare Free Weekends plan structures side by side and review how each company handles truly free versus discount weekend windows.
Read Free Weekends plan reviews and breakdowns focused on weekend windows, weekday rates, and delivery-charge treatment.
Review of Gexa Energy’s 3-Day Free Weekends Plan. Compare free-weekend savings against fixed-rate plans based on real household usage.
Review of Atlantex Power Luminous Free Weekends plan. Compare free-weekend savings vs competitive fixed-rate plans based on real usage
The table below highlights the practical differences between Discount Weekends plans and Truly Free Weekends plans, including weekday pricing, weekend treatment, fit, and risk.
| Concept | Discount Weekends | Truly Free Weekends |
|---|---|---|
| Effective rate during weekdays | Around 15–25¢/kWh. | Around 20–35¢/kWh. |
| Effective rate during free weekend window | Around 5–7¢/kWh (TDU delivery still applies). | Free (usually no energy or TDU charge). |
| Best for | Homes that can shift heavy electricity habits to weekends (laundry, EV charging) and are willing to sacrifice some AC comfort on weekdays. Since cooling/heating are major usage drivers regardless of home type, this option is usually safer. | Same profile as Discount Weekends, but with a stronger risk/reward profile tied to how much usage you can truly move into the free window. Can work better for people who stay away from home on weekdays and return on weekends, which helps guarantee larger savings. |
| Risk if you cannot shift enough usage | You may overpay by roughly 30% to 50%, especially if you do not control AC usage on weekdays. | 30%+ overpay risk. Only certain usage profiles can find consistent savings in this setup. |
Discount Weekends
Around 15–25¢/kWh.
Truly Free Weekends
Around 20–35¢/kWh.
Discount Weekends
Around 5–7¢/kWh (TDU delivery still applies).
Truly Free Weekends
Free (usually no energy or TDU charge).
Discount Weekends
Homes that can shift heavy electricity habits to weekends (laundry, EV charging) and are willing to sacrifice some AC comfort on weekdays. Since cooling/heating are major usage drivers regardless of home type, this option is usually safer.
Truly Free Weekends
Same profile as Discount Weekends, but with a stronger risk/reward profile tied to how much usage you can truly move into the free window. Can work better for people who stay away from home on weekdays and return on weekends, which helps guarantee larger savings.
Discount Weekends
You may overpay by roughly 30% to 50%, especially if you do not control AC usage on weekdays.
Truly Free Weekends
30%+ overpay risk. Only certain usage profiles can find consistent savings in this setup.
The table below shows common household situations that may or may not be a fit for Free Weekends plans. Outcomes depend mostly on weekday HVAC usage and how much load can actually be shifted into the weekend window.
| Profile | Fit | Why + Better Option |
|---|---|---|
| Small/Medium apartment, work-from-home tenants. Thermostat around 73°F during weekdays, with laundry done on weekends. | Poor fit | Even if laundry is shifted to the weekend, it is not enough. Keeping the thermostat at 73°F during weekdays creates significant weekday usage at higher rates. Weekend savings usually do not offset weekday costs. A True Fixed plan is usually the better option. |
| Small/Medium apartment, upper floor. Thermostat around 76°F during weekdays, with some usage shifted to weekends. | Poor fit | This is usually an even worse scenario. Upper-floor apartments often run HVAC more during the day due to heat exposure, increasing weekday usage at higher rates. Free weekend hours typically cannot compensate. A True Fixed plan is recommended. |
| Small/Medium apartment, lower floor. Thermostat around 76°F during weekdays and 72°F at night, with laundry and EV charging on weekends. | Risky fit | This setup could work, but it depends heavily on insulation quality and HVAC efficiency. If weekday usage remains controlled and flexible loads move to weekends, some savings are possible, but results are inconsistent. |
| Small house with 1 EV. Regular daytime usage, EV charging on weekends. | Poor fit | Shifting EV charging to weekends alone is usually not enough. Most household usage still occurs during weekdays at higher rates. A True Fixed plan or a Free Nights plan is typically better. |
| Medium/Large house, comfort-first household. Keeps the home cool all day without adjusting usage. | Poor fit | Free Weekends plans require discipline and willingness to adjust usage. If you prioritize comfort and maintain high weekday daytime usage, you will likely overpay. A True Fixed plan is safer and more predictable. |
| Small apartment, minimal weekday usage, stays home mainly on weekends. | Good fit | This is a strong fit. If most electricity usage naturally happens during weekends, the plan can work well without major behavior changes. |
| Homes with solar, or solar + battery. | Poor fit | Free Weekends plans are usually not optimal for solar setups. Buyback plans or Free Nights plans often provide better value by aligning more closely with production and storage patterns. |
| Family in a 3,000 sq ft house. Efficient appliances, pool, and EV; thermostat around 76°F during the day and 72°F at night, with gas heating and water heating. | Risky fit | This scenario is difficult to predict. Even with efficient systems, large homes often have significant weekday usage. In many cases, total cost ends higher. A True Fixed plan or Free Nights plan is often safer. |
Weekend laundry alone is not enough. Weekday thermostat usage at ~73°F usually drives costs too high. Better option: True Fixed.
Upper floors usually consume more weekday HVAC due to heat exposure. Free weekends often cannot offset this. Better option: True Fixed.
Possible but inconsistent. Depends on insulation/HVAC and strict load-shifting to weekends.
Weekend EV charging alone is rarely enough. Weekday usage still dominates. Better option: True Fixed or Free Nights.
High weekday comfort usage usually leads to overpaying. Better option: True Fixed.
Strong fit when most usage naturally falls on weekends.
Usually a poor fit. Buyback or Free Nights plans often align better with solar/storage behavior.
Difficult to predict; weekday usage can still dominate. Better option is often True Fixed or Free Nights.
There is a reason why energy companies tend to offer more Free Weekend plans than Free Night plans: these plans often end up being a bad deal for the customer. In many cases, people overpay because it is difficult to shift enough electricity usage into the weekend without sacrificing comfort during the week.
The following tips are essential if you want a Free Weekend plan to work in your favor. These plans can easily cause you to overpay if you do not actively move a meaningful share of your electricity usage into the free weekend period.
The biggest challenge is that air conditioning and electric heating are usually the largest sources of electricity usage during the weekdays. You cannot ignore them. In many homes, HVAC can represent around 40% or more of total consumption. To make a Free Weekend plan work, you need to control HVAC usage during paid periods and shift as many other high-consumption activities as possible into the weekend.
| Device usage | Advice |
|---|---|
| Air conditioning during paid weekdays | In summer, set the thermostat as high as reasonably comfortable during paid weekday hours, ideally 76°F or higher. This is usually the single biggest lever for improving savings. |
| Air conditioning at night on weekdays | At night during weekdays, 73°F is a reasonable target for many homes. Ceiling fans can also help improve comfort without increasing AC usage as much. |
| Air conditioning during weekends | During the free weekend period, you have much more flexibility and can cool the home more aggressively if needed. To make this strategy practical, your thermostat should be able to apply a different schedule for weekdays and weekends. |
| Electric heating during paid weekdays | In winter, set the thermostat as low as reasonably comfortable during paid periods, ideally around 68°F or lower, both during the day and at night. |
| Electric heating during weekends | During the free weekend period, there is much more flexibility, since weekend heating usage does not carry the same penalty as weekday usage. |
| Laundry and dryer | Run the washer and dryer only on weekends whenever possible. This is one of the easiest habits to change, so it should be considered a must if you want a Free Weekend plan to make sense. |
| Dishwasher | Try to avoid using the dishwasher during weekdays. If possible, leave the heavier dishwashing load for the weekend. |
| Electric cooking | If possible, prepare weekday meals during the weekend and store them in the refrigerator. This helps reduce electricity use for cooking during weekdays. |
| Electric water heating | If your home uses an electric water heater, Free Weekend plans become harder to justify. A large share of hot water usage often happens during the weekdays, especially showers. Unless your household can shift a meaningful portion of hot water usage into the weekend, this type of plan may not be a good fit. |
| Pool pump and other heavy motors | For variable-speed pool pumps, keep the pump running at a lower speed during weekdays and increase runtime or output during the weekend. If you still use a single-speed pump, upgrading to a variable-speed model can make a very noticeable difference in electricity consumption. |
In summer, set the thermostat as high as reasonably comfortable during paid weekday hours, ideally 76°F or higher. This is usually the single biggest lever for improving savings.
At night during weekdays, 73°F is a reasonable target for many homes. Ceiling fans can also help improve comfort without increasing AC usage as much.
During the free weekend period, you have much more flexibility and can cool the home more aggressively if needed. To make this strategy practical, your thermostat should be able to apply a different schedule for weekdays and weekends.
In winter, set the thermostat as low as reasonably comfortable during paid periods, ideally around 68°F or lower, both during the day and at night.
During the free weekend period, there is much more flexibility, since weekend heating usage does not carry the same penalty as weekday usage.
Run the washer and dryer only on weekends whenever possible. This is one of the easiest habits to change, so it should be considered a must if you want a Free Weekend plan to make sense.
Try to avoid using the dishwasher during weekdays. If possible, leave the heavier dishwashing load for the weekend.
If possible, prepare weekday meals during the weekend and store them in the refrigerator. This helps reduce electricity use for cooking during weekdays.
If your home uses an electric water heater, Free Weekend plans become harder to justify. A large share of hot water usage often happens during the weekdays, especially showers. Unless your household can shift a meaningful portion of hot water usage into the weekend, this type of plan may not be a good fit.
For variable-speed pool pumps, keep the pump running at a lower speed during weekdays and increase runtime or output during the weekend. If you still use a single-speed pump, upgrading to a variable-speed model can make a very noticeable difference in electricity consumption.
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