Personal residence, account 22 617 891-1
Built from your 3 actual Discount Power bills (Sep 2025, Feb 2026, May 2026) and the 5 EFL quotes you dropped in MacMini Sync. All numbers traceable to the source PDFs.
Lock in BKV Bluebonnet 36 at 8.135¢/kWh, 36 months. Three reasons it beats the other options once you factor in your stated preference to insulate against future rate moves:
BKVEJOINUS50 $50 promo (in hand), $50 Refer-a-Friend credit if Ace gets referred (stackability with promo TBD by call), and ~$43 average ElectroShare annual loyalty payout each November (Bluebonnet plans come with BKV Energy Plus at no cost, ElectroShare included, per BKV's ElectroShare page and 2024 average payout figure). Best-case stacked first-year credit: $50 + $50 + $43 = $143. Net switch cost in that case: $107. Payback period: ~29 days at the $3.68/day supply savings pace.Trade-off vs APG&E Fixed 12 (7.411¢): you pay 0.724¢/kWh more on supply (~$92 over these 3 bills based on actual usage) for the ratchet-down option and the 24 extra months of price lock. Worth it given your re-shop appetite.
Pulled directly from the Discount Power bill PDFs in MacMini Sync. Discount Nights 36 charges daytime 11.5894¢/kWh and nighttime 9.5894¢/kWh (8 PM to 8 AM nighttime window per Discount Power EFL).
| Bill period | Days | Total kWh | Night kWh | Night % | Blended ¢/kWh | Total $ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-08-05 to 2025-09-04 | 30 | 6,092 | 2,348.48 | 38.5% | 16.4¢ | $1,032.27 |
| 2026-01-07 to 2026-02-06 | 30 | 2,456 | 1,170.74 | 47.7% | 16.6¢ | $419.91 |
| 2026-04-08 to 2026-05-07 | 29 | 4,182 | 2,091.45 | 50.0% | 15.5¢ | $666.31 |
| 3-bill sum | 89 | 12,730 | 5,610.67 | 44.1% | 16.6¢ | $2,118.49 |
Source: viewbillpdf.pdf, viewbillpdf2.pdf, viewbillpdf3.pdf in MacMini Sync.
All for the CenterPoint TDU service area. Delivery charges (4.9715¢/kWh + $4.90/mo) are the same on every plan since they pass through from CenterPoint, so the comparison below is supply-side only.
| REP / Plan | Term | Energy ¢/kWh | Base $/mo | Type | ETF | Renewable |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discount Power: Discount Nights 36 Current | Through 2027-07-04 | 11.5894 day / 9.5894 night | $0 | TOU (8 PM to 8 AM night) | Not stated on bill | N/A |
| Discount Power: Discount Nights 24 Renewal offer | 24 mo | 9.1081 day / 7.1081 night | $9.95 | TOU (8 PM to 8 AM night) | $295 (waived if moves) | 22% |
| APG&E: Fixed 12 Cheapest sticker | 12 mo | 7.411 flat | $0 | Flat fixed | $150 flat | 5.85% |
| BKV Energy: Verbena 36 Needs paid Energy Plus add-on for rate-drop | 36 mo | 7.991 flat | $0 | Flat fixed | $20 per remaining month | 29% |
| BKV Energy: Bluebonnet 36 Recommended: free Reduce Your Rate | 36 mo | 8.135 flat | $0 | Flat fixed | $20 per remaining month | 29% |
| GoodCharlie: GoodEnergy 36 | 36 mo | 8.1 flat | $4.95 | Flat fixed | $20 per remaining month | 26% |
Source: EFL PDFs in MacMini Sync (BKV Verbena/Bluebonnet 2026-05-14, GoodCharlie 2026-05-07, APG&E 2026-05-19, Discount Power renewal 2026-05-18).
Each cell is computed from cited rates and your cited bill splits. TDU delivery charges and taxes are the same across plans and excluded from this table (the differential is supply-side).
| Plan | Sep 2025 (6,092 kWh) |
Feb 2026 (2,456 kWh) |
May 2026 (4,182 kWh) |
3-bill total | Savings vs current |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discount Nights 36 Current | $659.05 | $261.22 | $442.84 | $1,363.11 | - |
| Discount Nights 24 renewal | $517.86 | $210.21 | $349.06 | $1,077.13 | $285.98 |
| APG&E Fixed 12 Cheapest sticker | $451.48 | $182.01 | $309.93 | $943.42 | $419.69 |
| BKV Verbena 36 | $486.81 | $196.26 | $334.18 | $1,017.25 | $345.86 |
| BKV Bluebonnet 36 Recommended | $495.58 | $199.80 | $340.20 | $1,035.58 | $327.53 |
| GoodCharlie 36 (+ $4.95 base) | $498.40 | $203.88 | $343.69 | $1,045.97 | $317.14 |
Math shown: kWh figures (per bill) × energy charge (per EFL), plus monthly base charge where applicable. Example, May bill on Discount Nights 24: 2,091.45 night kWh × $0.071081 = $148.71, plus 2,090.55 day kWh × $0.091081 = $190.40, plus $9.95 base = $349.06.
You asked if BKV Bluebonnet at 8.135¢ is the best you can get. Short answer: not quite the absolute floor, and the 2-EV setup opens a whole different plan category that may beat all of the above. Here's the landscape.
| Plan | Term | Energy ¢/kWh | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chariot Energy GridPlus 12 | 12 mo | ~7.0 | Cheapest sticker in Houston May 2026 per TexasElectricityRatings.com. Cuts the APG&E quote by ~0.4¢ but you re-shop in 12 months. |
| APG&E SimpleSaver 12 | 12 mo | ~7.2 | Slightly cheaper variant of the APG&E plan you already have an EFL for (7.411¢). Worth re-pulling EFL. |
| 4Change Energy 12 | 12 mo | ~7.2 | Per ChooseEnergy.com canvas, also at 7.2¢. |
| BKV Verbena 36 (current quote) | 36 mo | 7.991 | Best long-lock rate I've seen for Houston residential 36-mo. Cheaper sticker exists at 24-mo from BKV variants worth requesting (assumption to verify by re-pulling EFL). |
Sources: TexasElectricityRatings.com Houston, ChooseEnergy.com Houston, ElectricRates.org 77055. Approximate rates because the canvas sites don't always publish to 3 decimal places and rates change daily.
These work by setting a higher daytime rate but giving you free or near-free nighttime/off-peak charging. Whether they beat a flat 7-8¢ plan depends on what fraction of your 4,243 kWh/month average is actually EV charging.
| Plan | Free window | How it works | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| TXU Free EV Miles 12/24 15 hr/day free | 10 PM to 1 PM | 100% off energy + delivery for EV charging in window. Uses your EV's telematics (Tesla, Ford, GM, Rivian, etc.) to track only the EV portion of usage. | Per Tesla Motors Club community thread, Oncor version was 17.1¢ energy at 1000 kWh + $9.95 base. CenterPoint Houston version EFL not published on TXU site, need to request. The daytime non-EV rate is HIGH (assumption to verify), so this only wins if EV charging fully shifts into window. |
| Gexa SavEV 12/24 | 11 PM to 4:59 AM (6 hr) | 100% off EV charge cost in window, via the Gexa365 telematics platform. | Shorter free window than TXU. 24-month version has $295 ETF. |
| Green Mountain Solar All Nighter for EVs | 8 PM to 6 AM (10 hr) | Reduced (not free) nighttime rate. 100% solar matched. | Reduced, not zero. Better for whole-house off-peak shift than pure EV. |
| Reliant EV Charger Plan | 9 PM to 5 AM (8 hr) | Discounted (not free) nighttime, includes free Level 2 charger installation. | Charger install has retail value (assumption to verify magnitude). Daytime rate likely higher than flat plans. |
Sources: TXU Free EV Miles, ComparePower EV plans, Gexa EV Charging.
Break-even formula: EV plan wins when (your monthly EV-charge kWh) × (free-window credit) > (4,243 kWh) × (EV-plan daytime rate minus 8.135¢ Bluebonnet rate). To compute this for your real situation, I need: (a) roughly what % of your 4,243 kWh/month is the 2 EVs, and (b) the actual CenterPoint EFL for TXU Free EV Miles (call TXU at 855-752-0086, ask for the 24-month CenterPoint EFL). With those two numbers we can know whether TXU Free EV Miles beats BKV Bluebonnet 36 for you specifically.
You asked how to think about price direction. Here's the directional reasoning, no specific forecasts (the field is too noisy for that):
Sources: BKV Reduce Your Rate FAQ (https://bkvenergy.com/support/reduce-your-rate-faq/). Directional ERCOT/gas reasoning is widely reported industry context, not a specific forecast.
This is sunk cost for any switch, including to BKV. Payback period for the recommended Bluebonnet 36 path: ~54 days after applying the BKVEJOINUS50 $50 promo credit (net upfront $200 / $3.68 per-day savings). Payback period for APG&E Fixed 12: ~53 days (no comparable promo confirmed). Both well inside the first quarter.
You currently pay Discount Power via credit card (per the "CARD PAYMENT" tag on the 3 bill PDFs) with no surcharge line. BKV accepts Visa/MC/Amex/Discover but doesn't publish whether a card processing fee applies. Call 1-855-258-4797 to confirm, since a 3% card fee on a typical ~$500 monthly bill would burn ~$15/month, comparable to the rate-spread savings.
BKVEJOINUS50 $50 promo stack with $50 Refer-a-Friend credit if I get referred? ($50 swing)BKV's "Reduce Your Rate" is free on Bluebonnet plans but requires the paid "BKV Energy Plus" subscription on Verbena/Daisy/Lantana. The monthly cost of Energy Plus is not in the EFL. If Energy Plus runs less than ~$6/month, Verbena + add-on beats Bluebonnet on net at your usage. If more, Bluebonnet wins (assumption to verify if you want to push for the absolute optimum among BKV plans).
APG&E is 5.85% renewable, BKV Verbena is 29%. If you weight green-content at all, Verbena 36 at $345.86 over 3 bills is the next-best alternative (assumption: cost is the primary factor here, not renewable mix).
Your 3 bills show 38.5% / 47.7% / 50.0% nighttime usage. The Discount Power TOU plans only beat APG&E flat if your nighttime % runs materially higher than seen in these bills. At current splits, flat rate wins (assumption: usage pattern is representative).