Frequently asked questions

No. Clear Energy Facts does not sell electricity and we don’t set rates. We’re an independent comparison site built to show plans from most providers in your area and rank them transparently by total estimated cost for your usage. Our goal is to make it easy to see which plan is actually cheapest for you.

No. You can browse plans and prices without an account. However, we strongly recommend you to sign up to unlock personalized estimates using your actual usage, compare all plan types (True Fixed, Free Hours, Free Weekends), verify if “free hours” really saves you, and see how your current plan stacks up, including early-termination fees and months remaining, so you know the real net savings.

No. To protect you from complex pricing that can lead to unpredictable bills (like usage-credit or free-hours/weekend plans), we limit results to True Fixed plans when you don’t provide usage data. You’ll still see the best True Fixed options in your area, ranked by estimated total cost, plus a simple graph showing what you’d pay at different monthly consumption levels (e.g., 500, 1,000, 2,000 kWh). The 500 kWh estimate can look slightly higher because fixed monthly charges are spread over fewer kWh. If you sign in and share usage, we’ll unlock personalized comparisons across all plan types.

• True Fixed — Same price per kWh for the entire term. No time-of-day or usage traps. Best for most users.
• Fixed – Tiered — Price or base charges change at usage tiers (e.g., 0–500, 501–1,000 kWh). Bills can jump when crossing tiers.
• Usage Credit Plan — Bill credit only if you land in a specific usage window (e.g., about $100 credit near 1,000 kWh). Miss the window and total cost can be higher.
• Free Hours (Day/Night) — "Free" electricity during set hours with higher rates the rest of the day. Works only if you consistently shift a large share of usage into the free window.
• Free Days & Weekends — Saturdays/Sundays (or certain days) are "free," but weekday rates are higher. In most cases—even with weekend-heavy usage—True Fixed still beats these on total cost.
• Variable (Month-to-Month) — Rate changes monthly at the provider’s discretion. Flexible but exposes you to price swings; not ideal for predictable bills.
• Prepaid — Pay in advance; service continues while balance is positive. Often variable pricing with extra fees/top-ups—rarely the cheapest over time.

Notes

• Browsing as a guest or without usage data shows only True Fixed plans (to avoid unpredictable bills from complex pricing).
• Sign in and connect usage to see personalized estimates across all plan types and find what’s truly cheapest for you.

We use your permissioned Smart Meter Texas data to import past usage in 15-minute intervals, then apply your real consumption pattern to each plan. For every plan, we standardize the Electricity Facts Label into clear pricing rules and estimate total monthly and annual cost, including energy, TDU delivery, and base charges. To ensure accuracy, we run automated validations, compare our results to the provider’s example prices, and review outliers. If a plan can’t be modeled reliably, such as seasonal or device-dependent offers, we don’t show it. If you don’t share usage, you can still browse True Fixed plans for predictable pricing.

You can email us at support@clearenergyfacts.com. Once you enter your ZIP code and open the dashboard, you'll also see our built-in chat:

• AI assistant: answers quick, common questions.
• Ask for a human: request live help any time.
• If you're logged in: our team can reply in the same chat thread.
• If you're a guest: we'll follow up by email using the address you provide.