Reliant Energy Offering Cash-Back on Nights and Weekends

Reliant Energy has launched a product, for residential customers with provisioned advanced meters, offering customers cash-back for usage during nights and weekends.

The Reliant e-Sense Cash Back Nights & Weekends plan, available at Oncor, CenterPoint, AEP Texas Central and AEP Texas North for customers with smart meters, applies a standard energy charge for all hours of consumption.

However, for usage between 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. on weekdays, and for all weekend usage, Reliant will pay the customer 1 cent per kilowatt-hour of consumption. Essentially, the product is a two-tier time-based product, but with the lower rate marketed as cash-back rather than a separate rate applicable in certain hours.

Reliant said that the cash-back mechanism was designed to be simple to understand for customers, as opposed to a tiered rate structure.

The cash-back credit is 1 cent per kWh in all service areas.

The energy charge applied to all usage under the product is as follows by TDU area (cents per kWh):
Oncor: 12.5
CenterPoint: 13.9
AEP Texas Central: 14.0
AEP Texas North: 12.9

Based on an average usage profile over 12 months in which 61% of consumption is on nights and weekends, the price per kWh for the product, as quoted in the Electricity Facts Label, is as follows for 1,000 kWh usage (cents per kWh):
Oncor: 11.9
CenterPoint: 13.3
AEP Texas Central: 13.4
AEP Texas North: 12.3

Each product is also 20% renewable.

The 12-month product, which is defined as indexed due to the formula used to calculate the cash back and monthly total (though the energy charge and credit are fixed), includes a $150 early termination fee applicable starting after the due date of the first bill.