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Billing FAQs

Billing FAQs

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Billing

Paperless Billing

Average Monthly Billing

Fees & charges

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Billing FAQs only apply to Texas customers. If you live outside of Texas, please contact your local utility for information on billing.

Billing

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Your billing cycle begins and ends based upon the meter reading dates determined by the Transmission and Distribution Service Provider (TDSP, also known as the utility company) for your area. Please be advised that Direct Energy does not control when the TDSP reads your meter. A typical billing cycle is 28-32 days in length, but there is no specifically set length that a billing cycle will always be.

When viewing the Direct Your Energy dashboard, you will see two line graphs for your previous bill and your next bill estimate. Each dot on the line graph represents one day of your bill cycle and the cumulative usage cost. You can compare your outlined usage from Direct Your Energy against your actual bill, located in the billing and payments tab. Please note, that usage costs are estimated and that predicted consumption and costs may differ from actual consumption and costs.

Here's a brief summary of how to estimate your bill: 

To get an estimate of your electricity bill with a particular plan, you will need a few numbers found on the plan's Electricity Facts Label (EFL): 

  • Base charge 
  • Energy rate per kilowatt-hour (kWh)a 
  • Transmission and Distribution Utility delivery charges 

You'll also need your historical energy usage. You can find this information on your past bills.

Follow these steps to estimate your electricity bill: 

  1. Multiply your energy rate by your energy usage. 
  2. Multiply your usage-based (per kWh) TDU charge by your energy usage. 
  3. Add your costs from Step 1 and Step 2, along with your base charge and fixed TDU charge. 

This should give you an estimation of your electric bill amount for that plan. Be sure to keep a few things in mind: 

  • Your bill amount can vary month to month based on your energy usage and any changes to the TDU delivery charges. 
  • Your energy usage can change due to weather, habits, appliance efficiency and many other factors. The most extreme changes in usage can occur when weather temperatures are highest or lowest, causing your AC or heater to use more electricity. 
  • With a fixed-rate plan, your energy rate per kWh stays the same for a designated number of months and with a variable-rate plan, your rate could change month over month. 

There are a few reasons why you might not have received your bill at this time. The generation of your bill depends upon when your meter is read by the Transmission Distribution Service Provider (TDSP, also known as the utility company) for your area and when that meter reading is delivered to Direct Energy. 

  • The TDSP might not have read your meter at this time. 
  • The TDSP might not have delivered your meter reading to Direct Energy. Please contact the TDSP to determine the meter read schedule for your service address. 
  • Per Texas Public Utilities Commission (PUC) regulation, Direct Energy does have up to 30 days after receiving your meter reading from your TDSP to generate your bill for any given billing cycle. 
  • There could be a discrepancy in the billing address we have on file for your account. Please log into your Direct Energy Online Account Manager to verify the billing address on file for your account. 
  • You are enrolled in Paperless Billing with Direct Energy, but the e-mail about your bill could have been placed in your spam/junk mail folder on accident. 
  • There could be a discrepancy in the e-mail address that we have on file for your account. Please log into your Direct Energy Online Account Manager to verify the e-mail address on file for your account. 

To better determine what might have happened to your bill, please call Customer Service at 1-888-305-3828 to speak with a representative for assistance.

If you have any questions about the electricity charges on your Direct Energy bill, please contact our Customer Care Team at 1-888-305-3828.

Extreme temperatures can often mean increased energy usage and higher electricity or gas bills. If your bill is higher than usual, there could be several reasons, including:

  • Increased AC or heater use. The hotter or colder it is, the harder our heating and cooling systems have to work to keep our homes at a comfortable temperature. As the biggest energy user in your home, your HVAC system is a big contributor to a higher electric or gas bill. 
  • You're home more. Extreme hot or cold weather usually drives us inside the comfort of our homes, where we use our AC or heater, lights and electronics. When the whole family is home using electricity, that can do a lot to drive up your bill. 
  • You're on a variable-rate plan. With a variable-rate plan, your energy price per kilowatt-hour (kWh) could change month over month due to market prices, which can vary as temperatures rise and fall. That means during seasons where temperatures are hottest or coldest and there is more general demand for energy to cool or heat homes, your rate could increase. 

Check out our seasonal energy hubs to learn more about why your bill could be unusually high and how to use less energy and save money:

Summer Energy Saving Tips

Winter Energy Saving Tips

Our customer care representatives are standing by to assist you with your electricity bill questions.

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1-877-866-6601 
Mon-Sun: 7 a.m. - 10 p.m. CT

All other electricity plans
1-888-305-3828 
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Paperless Billing

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Direct Energy does offer Paperless Billing to all customers who are interested in receiving fewer pieces of paper mail in their mailbox. When you enroll in Paperless Billing, you will receive an e-mail the day your bill is generated and will no longer receive a paper bill.

The best time to sign up for Paperless Billing or electronic billing is at the time of enrollment. If you are a current customer, you can log in to your Online Account Manager and enroll in Paperless Billing. Please note that it may take one to two billing cycles to begin receiving your electronic bill.

Direct Energy customers do not have to be enrolled in Paperless Billing. This is an optional service we offer to interested customers. Please be advised that customers not enrolled in Paperless Billing will still receive a courtesy e-mail the day a new bill is generated.

To view your bill, usage details and make a payment with Direct Energy, log in to your Direct Energy Online Account Manager, hover over the Billing and Payments icon in the top navigation bar, and select the appropriate link for the action you want to take.

You can opt out of Paperless Billing at any time. Simply log in to your Direct Energy Online Account Manager, hover over Billing and Payments icon in the top navigation bar, click Paperless Billing, and select that you want to opt out of Paperless Billing. Please note this also may take one to two billing cycles to go into effect on your account.

Average Monthly Billing

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Average Monthly Billing allows you to pay an evened-out amount every month instead of receiving fluctuating monthly bills. 

Average Monthly Billing is designed to even out the highs and lows in your electric bill and is based on your current price plan and usage history at your service location. Your Average Monthly Billing amount recalculates each month and is based on an average of your current month's usage plus your prior usage up to 11 months, plus or minus a portion of your accumulated variance, multiplied by the plan rate you chose originally. 

Here’s how your Average Monthly Billing amount is calculated: 

  1. We add your current bill amount to the previous 11 months' bill amounts for your service address. 
  2. We divide that total amount by 12 (or by the total months available for your service address).   
  3. We add or subtract 1/12 of your deferred balance, which is the cumulative difference between your monthly average billing amount and what you would owe if you were not signed up for Average Monthly Billing.  

If you don't have 11 months of electricity bills at the service address, we’ll take the previous usage at that service address and apply your current price to calculate your average monthly amount. 

You can learn how Direct Energy calculates your Average Monthly Billing from this example. 

If you have less than 11 months of bill amounts at this service address, Direct Energy will take the previous usage at the address and apply your current price to calculate your average monthly amount.

You can use the same payment options for your electricity bill payment as you would with regular billing. Here are the different payment methods: 

  • You can sign up for AutoPay to have the amount automatically paid each month. 
  • You can pay through your Online Account Manager. 
  • Call our automated phone system at 1-888-305-3828. 
  • By mail: Write your check or money order payable to Direct Energy. Be sure and write your account number on your check or money order.
    Direct Energy
    P.O. Box 660896
    Dallas, TX 75266
  • Pay in Person: Find the payment station near you. 

The deferred balance amount is the cumulative difference between your monthly Average Monthly Billing amount and what you would owe if you were not signed up for Average Monthly Billing. The deferred balance amount can be found on your monthly bill. If the bill amount is positive, 1/12 will be added to your bill. If the bill amount is negative, 1/12 will be subtracted from your bill. If you're a new Average Monthly Billing customer, the deferred balance will begin in the second month. The deferred balance must be paid in full if you cancel Average Monthly Billing or change electricity providers.

Any credit balance will be applied to your next bill or refunded to you; any outstanding deferred balance will be due at that time.

Please contact us at 1-888-305-3828 to cancel Average Monthly Billing.

Fees & charges

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We've created a simple guide to walk you through the details of the various fees and charges on your Direct Energy bill.

An energy or generation charge is what Direct Energy charges you for your electricity usage. This is based on the kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity used in a given billing cycle and the rate for that electricity. We calculate the charge by multiplying the number of kWh consumed during a billing cycle by your rate for energy (in cents per kWh).

For example, if you're signed up on a fixed-rate plan at 10.0¢ per kWh and you use 1,000 kWh during a billing cycle, your energy charge would be $100.00: 1,000 kWh x 10.0¢ cents per kWh = $100.00.

Please understand that the number of kWh you use in a billing cycle is not determined by Direct Energy but by the utility company for your area, based upon their reading of your meter.

This is the charge assessed to recover the miscellaneous gross receipts tax imposed on retail electric providers operating in an incorporated city or town having a population of more than 1,000. The acceptable abbreviation for this charge is "Gross Receipts Reimb."

The Miscellaneous Gross Receipts Tax Reimbursement is imposed on both utility companies and retail energy providers located in a city or town having a population of more than 1,000 according to the last federal census. This fee may or may not appear on your Direct Energy bill, depending on where you live.

For more information on this fee, please visit https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/public-utility/.

These are the charges that come from your local Transmission Distribution Service Provider (TDSP) – also known as your utility company or Transmission and Distribution Utility (TDU).

The TDSP Delivery Charge is a mix of usage-based fees and standard monthly fees. These fees are passed through to you without markup from your local TDSP. They cover the cost for maintaining the wires to your home and distributing your electricity. TDSP Delivery charges may fluctuate based on your usage and if your local utility company increases or decreases their fees. All delivery charges are consolidated into one line item titled "TDSP Delivery Charges."

Other charges

The PUC Assessment is a fee assessed by the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and it has always been a part of your monthly price per kilowatt hour. This fee covers the cost of the administration of the PUC Regulatory Act. It is equal to 1/6 of 1 percent of the charges on your bill, excluding sales tax.

The Gross Receipts Reimbursement Charge is a fee assessed by the TDSP to recover the miscellaneous gross receipts tax imposed on retail electric providers operating in an incorporated city of town having a population of more than 1,000.

Your TDSP may also charge a non-recurring fee for items such as a new service initiation fee that will not appear on every bill. These fees will appear as a separate line item on your bill.

Sales tax charges are collected by authorized taxing authorities, such as the state, cities, and special purpose district.

Non-recurring fees are charges from your local utility company, also known as the Transmission and Distribution Service Provider (TDSP) or Transmission and Distribution Utility (TDU), and may include items such as a new service initiation fee or a meter-reading fee if you requested a meter reading outside of your normal billing cycle.

These charges are listed separately on your monthly bill and are not from Direct Energy. However, because we are your retail electric provider, we are required to pass them on to you.

This is the charge assessed by the Texas Public Utilities Commission (PUCT) to recover the statutory fee for administering the Public Utility Regulatory Act. It is equal to 1/6 of 1 percent of the charges on your bill, excluding sales tax. For more information on this Fee, please visit https://www.puc.texas.gov/consumer/electricity/bill/.

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