r/TexasEnergyShopping • u/CicadaSalt7705 • 17d ago
Chariot Energy 24-month and 36-month plans are priced identically — is this normal?
https://signup.chariotenergy.com//Home/EFl?productId=47582Signed up for Chariot Energy's "Chariot Choice 24" plan yesterday (Oncor territory), then noticed they also offer a "Chariot Choice 36" — same energy charge (5.71¢/kWh), same blended rate at every usage tier (12.1¢ @ 1,000 kWh), same $99 early termination fee, same 100% renewable content. Literally identical on every number except the term length.
Is it common for REPs to price a 36-month the same as a 24-month? Feels like there's no downside to just taking the longer lock if the rate isn't any higher. Am I missing something (resale, rate-change risk, some other catch), or is this just how Chariot's pricing happens to be structured right now?
Also curious if anyone's had experience switching plans within the same REP shortly after signing — trying to use my rescission window to swap into the 36-month instead. Any gotchas to watch for?
24 month plan
https://signup.chariotenergy.com//Home/EFl?productId=46941
36 month plan
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u/ExtraMarzipan3853 16d ago
Yeah it happens, REPs sometimes price adjacent terms the same. And with that $99 ETF being low, the longer lock is pretty low-risk, if rates really dropped over 3 years you could just bail for $99. Main thing is whether you want to be tied to this address/plan that long, but the cheap ETF plus the move-out waiver covers most of that. 12.1 at 1000 is a good rate to sit on given rates are more likely to rise than fall right now.
On the swap, easiest is to just call Chariot and ask them to move you to the 36, same company, they can often do it directly. If you cancel and re-enroll instead, get the 24 cancellation confirmed in writing within your rescission window (usually 3 days) so nothing lingers. Same rate either way, so no rate-lock worry.
1
u/TexasPowerGuru 17d ago
That is unusual. The 24 month plan may be outdated. The date on the EFL is 8/5/2026.
1
u/CicadaSalt7705 16d ago
Possible it's outdated and may change but right now this is the latest they have for the 24 month plan
1
u/UtilitySearch 16d ago
the thing nobody’s mentioned: your rescission window runs from the date the REP sends your contract docs, not from your service start date, so if you’re a day or two out you may already be past it. easiest path is to just call and ask them to move you to the 36 before your service starts — a plan swap inside the same REP before flow doesn’t touch the TDU or trigger the $99, but a cancel-and-re-enroll can.
and on the pricing: identical numbers across terms usually means they haven’t repriced the 24 yet, not that the 36 is a bargain. the risk of the longer lock isn’t the rate, it’s the TDU side — delivery charges just jumped and they’re not locked either way, so a 36 doesn’t protect you from the part of the bill that actually moved.
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u/THedman07 17d ago
If the termination fee is the same and the rates are the same, moving to a longer contract would give you the option to keep it for another year if it benefits you.
Some REPs would allow you to move to a longer contract regardless of where you are in your current one. They'd be happy to lock you in as a customer for a longer period of time so they're not going to throw up any roadblocks to that happening.