Direct Energy Review and Ratings
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Direct Energy: What we like
- Their mobile app is one of the best rated in the Texas electricity market, with excellent user reviews. Customers can make payments, set up AutoPay, contact customer service, link EV data and smart thermostats, and track their electricity usage.
- They have a great referral program where both you and your friend receive a $100 bill credit after signing up. Learn more here
- They offer a plan that differs from most competitors, their 12 hour Free Nights plan, which provides 12 hours of free electricity overnight. However, this benefit comes with a disadvantage, daytime rates are typically higher than other free hours plans. We recommend considering this plan only after carefully reviewing your usage with our tools using your Smart Meter Texas data and comparing your historical usage across different plans. This plan is especially popular among customers with solar panels or home battery systems, who can avoid high daytime rates by relying on stored energy.
Direct Energy: What we don’t like
- A $4.95 call fee applies if a customer chooses to make a payment through a call center agent instead of using self-service options.
- Although the company maintains a Google rating around 4 stars, reviews from the past 12 months show a more balanced mix of positive and negative feedback. Common complaints mention customer support issues and significant rate increases after contracts expire.
- Their early termination fees are significantly higher than the market average.
- Their plans are currently less competitive than those offered by most providers, including the plans they list on Power to Choose.
Ratings for Direct Energy
Company review breakdown
Compared against 42 Texas electricity companies rated by Clear Energy Facts.
This company performs poorly in our overall evaluation.
Cancellation fees
Ranked #38 of 42 companies
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Cancellation fees are higher than most other companies.
Plans & rates
Ranked #37 of 42 companies
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Rates are higher than average compared with other companies.
Transparency
Ranked #18 of 42 companies
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Low transparencyDifferent rate between Power to Choose and the company’s website.
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Good transparencySimilar rates in Google sponsored ads and on the company’s website.
PUCT complaint record
Ranked #13 of 42 companies
Based on complaint data reported to the Public Utility Commission of Texas.
How We Rate This Company
- PUCT Rating: This is the official scorecard published by the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT).
- Plan & Rates: We evaluate each company’s electricity rates by giving more weight to clear True Fixed plans and less weight to other fixed-type plans, using average prices across different contract lengths. Companies with lower average rates score higher, and we exclude complex or gimmicky offers that require special equipment (like smart thermostats, EV devices, seasonal pricing, or “highest usage day” rewards).
- Cancellation Fees: We compare each plan’s early termination fee against similar plans from other providers and normalize the data. Lower cancellation fees per contract term result in better scores.
- Transparency: We check how consistently the provider displays prices across the main shopping channels Texans use: Power to Choose, the company’s own website, and Google Ads. If the prices match across these places, the transparency score goes up. If the company advertises one price but charges something different on its site, the score goes down.
- CEF Score: The overall Clear Energy Facts score is a weighted average of these sub-scores, giving you a single number you can use to compare providers side by side.
Data note: Except for the PUCT Rating (which comes directly from the official PUCT scorecard), all CEF scores are calculated using real, up-to-date plan data from each provider. We recalculate these scores regularly using current Electricity Facts Labels and plan details — we don’t guess or use hidden assumptions.
Clear Energy Facts ratings focus on plan structure, transparency, and pricing. They do not include direct customer service scores. For that, we recommend checking recent Google Reviews and other independent sources, and being cautious with “star ratings” shown on sponsored comparison sites.
Direct Energy Plans & Current Rates (Dec 2025)
Note: CEF selects plans based on value to the customer. For this review, we generally exclude complex seasonal plans that usually offer poor value, high-rate fixed plans, and high-rate bill credit plans. For a complete list of available plans and terms, always check the provider's website. We display the latest update date for each plan, showing when the EFL and its information were collected. CEF verifies rates twice per week. Always check the provider’s website for the most current EFL and rates.
Enter your ZIP to check Direct Energy plans
We’ll use your ZIP only to find the Transmission & Distribution Utility (TDU) for your address.
Does Direct Energy have True Fixed rate plans?
Yes — we found 4 True Fixed plans (Check Provider's website for a full list of plans):
True Fixed
Ranked #54 of 62 True Fixed plans in this TDU & term range
True Fixed
Listed on Power to Choose
Ranked #37 of 41 True Fixed plans in this TDU & term range
True Fixed
Ranked #61 of 62 True Fixed plans in this TDU & term range
True Fixed
Ranked #40 of 41 True Fixed plans in this TDU & term range
Does Direct Energy have Free Hours plans?
Yes — we found 2 Free Nights / Free Hours style plans (Check Provider's website for a full list of plans):
Free Hours (Day/Night)
⚠️ Promotional plans like this are harder to compare, because the real price depends a lot on your actual usage. Clear Energy Facts can run the math for you — please Log in or Sign up to start comparing these plans properly. ⚠️
Free Hours (Day/Night)
⚠️ Promotional plans like this are harder to compare, because the real price depends a lot on your actual usage. Clear Energy Facts can run the math for you — please Log in or Sign up to start comparing these plans properly. ⚠️
Does Direct Energy have Free Weekend plans?
Yes — we found 1 weekend-free style plan (Check Provider's website for a full list of plans):
Free Days & Weekends
⚠️ Promotional plans like this are harder to compare, because the real price depends a lot on your actual usage. Clear Energy Facts can run the math for you — please Log in or Sign up to start comparing these plans properly. ⚠️
Does Direct Energy have Bill Credit plans?
We don’t currently list any Bill Credit plans for this provider in this TDU.
Transparency Review in Detail
Transparency
Ranked #18 of 42 companies
Customer Service Review in Detail
PUCT complaint record
Ranked #13 of 42 companies
In this section we focus on the company’s customer service, using the official complaint data from the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT).
1. PUCT scorecard rating. This score shows how this provider compares to other Texas electricity companies based on the number of customer complaints the PUCT receives about them.
2. What the PUCT scorecard means. The PUCT publishes a scorecard that rates Retail Electric Providers based on their complaint history. It compares a company's market share to its share of complaints filed with the state. Companies that resolve issues before customers feel the need to contact the PUCT receive higher ratings (5 Power Circles), while companies that frequently force customers to escalate issues receive lower ratings.
If a company does not have a PUCT rating (or we show “No rating”), it usually means there is not enough historical data for the PUCT to calculate a score. This typically happens when a company is new to the market or has a customer base too small to be statistically compared to larger providers.
Summary of Real Customer Reviews
At Clear Energy Facts we encourage people to leave reviews on platforms where everyone can read them and companies can respond publicly. From all the options available, we’ve found that Google tends to have some of the most consistent review practices and is a widely trusted source for real customer feedback.
The analysis below is based primarily on Google reviews from roughly the last 12 months, so the information reflects recent customer experiences rather than very old history.
Customer experiences include reports of affordable plans and helpful service, alongside accounts of unexpectedly high bills, unhelpful customer support, and deceptive sales practices.
Common questions about Direct Energy
- Is Direct Energy a good electricity company?
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Based on our independent analysis, Direct Energy currently holds a Clear Energy Facts Score of 2.5 out of 5. This places them at rank #33 out of 42 retail electricity providers we track in Texas. This rating reflects a combination of their plan value, customer service history, and pricing transparency.
- Does Direct Energy have True Fixed rate plans?
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Yes. Direct Energy currently offers True Fixed rate plans. The cheapest True Fixed rate that we have validated is Live Brighter Lite 18 at about 16.9¢/kWh around 1,000 kWh with a 18-month term in the Dallas service area. Use the ZIP search above to see the latest True Fixed options available for your area.
- Does Direct Energy offer Free Nights or Free Hours plans?
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Yes. Direct Energy offers Free Nights / Free Hours plans. An example is Twelve Hour Power 18 Auto Pay.
- Does Direct Energy offer Free Weekends plans?
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Yes. Direct Energy offers Free Weekends plans. An example is Free Power Weekends 24 Auto Pay.