Business electricity rates in Texas

Base vs. Reliant

Comparing business electricity rates? Here's how the two providers stack up for your business.

Last updated August 2026 - Base Power Team

A business owner reviewing a lower energy bill with Base

Quick answer

Base vs. Reliant business electricity rates

Base does custom, fixed-rate pricing for businesses, based on your historical usage, with no variable rates or fees. Reliant sells fixed-rate business plans but doesn't publish rates online - you'll need to request a quote to see actual pricing.
Every business electricity rate includes a delivery fee from your local transmission and distribution utility (TDU) - the company that owns the poles and wires - no matter which provider you choose. When you compare business electricity rates, focus on the energy charge, since that's the part you control.
Members who switched from Reliant to Base saved 24% on average. Your exact savings depend on how much power you use and when.

What's the difference between Base and Reliant?

Reliant sells fixed-rate business plans, but you'll need to request a quote to see actual pricing. Base has a custom, fixed rate that stays the same day or night, with no bill-credit minimums to hit and no usage fees. Send us your bill and we'll quote your custom rate in about 10 minutes. You pay your TDU the same delivery fee either way. The difference is the rate structure on top.

How much can my business save with Base?

Members who switched from Reliant to Base saved 24% on their bills. Base has worked with business owners who were paying 5-6¢/kWh higher than the fair market rate. Cumulatively, our members save on average $3,674 per year from switching to Base. A flat rate locks in your energy charge below the market average, guaranteed, even at renewal, which is why we recommend it over variable rates.

Base is able to offer lower rates because of its business model. Base leverages a network of home batteries that strengthen the grid and passes those savings down to energy-only members, like Texas business owners.

Does a flat rate work for my size of business?

Yes. The same custom, fixed rate holds whether you run a single café using 2,000-5,000 kWh a month, a restaurant or clinic at 5,000-25,000 kWh, or a manufacturer using 25,000 kWh or more. No demand-tier surprises as you grow.

Who is Reliant?

Reliant is one of the more popular names in Texas electricity. It's a company that has sold power since 2000, with roots in Houston Lighting & Power going back more than a century. Today it's owned by NRG Energy, a Fortune 500 power company, and serves more than 1.5 million Texans, long one of the state's two largest providers.

The good

Reliant sells fixed-rate business plans for small businesses, including its "Business Power Plus" plan and a longer-term "Stay & Save" plan whose energy charge steps down 10% after your first and second years. There's a "Make It Solar for Business" option that matches your usage with renewable energy certificates (RECs), a usage-reward program (Degrees of Difference) for cutting power during high-demand periods, plus bilingual small-business support by phone, email, and chat.

If you want a recognizable Texas provider with plenty of plan options and REC matching, Reliant covers the basics.

Things to compare

Reliant doesn't publish its business rates online, so you'll need to request a quote to see pricing. Its lowest advertised business offers structure value through bill credits - like two free usage days a week and bonus credits - that depend on how and when you use power, with the biggest step-downs tied to a 36-month term; it's worth reading the full Electricity Facts Label to see how a plan fits your usage. Reliant's BBB profile also combines residential and commercial accounts, so business-specific complaint data isn't broken out separately.

Compare the full terms of any plan - including credits, term length, and the per-kWh energy charge - before you decide.

Sources: plan details via Reliant's small-business site; complaint data via Better Business Bureau. Plans change often - check the live Electricity Facts Label before you sign up.

Comparing Reliant and Base business electricity rates

	Reliant	Flat & clear
Energy charge	Standardized and variable	Custom pricing based on your business's usage
Rate structure	Fixed-rate plans	Fixed-rate plan
Below market average?	Varies	Guaranteed
Same rate, day or night	yes	yes
No bill-credit minimums	—	No bill-credit minimums
No usage fees	—	No usage fees

Reliant sells fixed-rate business plans, but doesn't publish rates online, so your energy charge depends on the quote you get. Base charges a custom, fixed energy rate that stays the same day or night, with no bill-credit minimums to hit and no usage fees. Send us your bill and we'll quote your custom rate in about 10 minutes. Both providers pass through the same TDU delivery charge, so the real difference is the rate structure you build on top of it.

Based on Base's own bill comparisons for members who switched from Reliant; your savings depend on your business and usage. Base's rate is set per business, based on historical usage - exact, usage-based pricing is in the Electricity Facts Label. See your exact rate →

Members who switched from Reliant to Base Power saved 24% on their bills.

See how much you could save.

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Why does choosing an energy provider matter?

Running a business keeps you busy, so electricity is easy to treat as a bill you just pay every month. But that's exactly how many owners lose out on savings year after year. The rate sits there quietly while you're focused on everything else.

Here's the part worth knowing: your bill is really three separate businesses stacked together, and you only control one of them, your retail provider. Delivery and generation costs are set for you by your local TDU. Plenty of owners don't realize they're free to shop around for a provider at all, and stick with the default they were given.

We recommend business owners get quotes from multiple providers and compare plans to find what's actually affordable. For most business owners, having a transparent, fixed plan with no confusing fine print saves time. The diagram below shows where each dollar goes and the one part you can change.

Power generation

Power plants, wind farms, and solar panels across Texas generate electricity and feed it onto the ERCOT grid. These generators sell electricity into a marketplace, and your provider bids on portions of that supply. This sets the base cost of power long before it reaches you.

Your retail provider

Your provider buys that power, packages it into a plan, and sets the rate you actually pay. This is the piece you get to choose, and where dozens of providers compete for your business. Many owners stick with their default provider for years. Picking well can be the biggest lever on your bill.

Delivery

Your local utility owns the poles, wires, transformers, and the meter that carries power the last mile to your business. Every business in your TDU's service area pays the same delivery rate. There's nothing to shop around for here.

Your business

Where the power finally lands. How much you use, and when, shapes your monthly bill once you've picked a provider.

A few minutes of your time can save your business thousands per year

Dallas-based cosmetic dental practice with 37% reduced energy costs

Industry spotlight

Base saved a cosmetic dental practice over $3.5k a year on electricity.

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Try Base for 30 days.

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We handle the switch

We cancel your old plan for you. No calls, no hassle.

Termination fee coverage

Base can help cover your costs.

Bring your bill, save on energy

Our members save $3,674 a year on average when they switch from Reliant to Base, with a predictable monthly bill from day one.

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Business electricity rates FAQs

Base is an electricity provider in Texas. We sell custom, fixed-rate pricing for businesses, based on historical usage: no tiers, no bill-credit thresholds, and no rate hikes at renewal. Members can also add a home or business backup battery that keeps the lights on during an outage and helps balance the grid.

In Texas it often runs a little lower, because businesses use more power and buy it in larger amounts. But "lower" depends on the plan: most commercial plans hide demand charges, tiered pricing, and bill-credit thresholds that push the real cost back up. Base skips all of that with a custom, fixed rate, whether you're a home or a business.

Yes. Every location gets the same custom, fixed-rate pricing: no separate deal to negotiate site by site. That means one predictable rate across all your storefronts, offices, or sites, so you can budget without guessing which bill will spike.

It depends on how much power your business uses and when. Many plans advertise a low headline rate that only holds if you hit a certain usage level or stay on a long contract, so the all-in cost can land higher than the number you were quoted. Base charges a custom, fixed rate - below the market average and guaranteed not to climb at renewal. Once you strip out the bill credits and usage tiers other plans rely on, a fixed rate with no hidden fees is usually the most affordable for a business.

Compare other providers

See how Base stacks up against every other major Texas business electricity provider.