Payless Power Review

Quick Facts

Is Payless Power good? Payless Power is the best prepaid electricity provider in Texas. No deposit, no credit check, $40 to start, same-day connection. But prepaid rates run 19+ cents/kWh—significantly more than traditional fixed-rate plans on the same grid.

• Parent Company: Young Energy, LLC (family-owned, founded by three brothers)
• Years in Texas: 21 (founded 2005, PUCT REP #10110)
• Best For: Customers who can’t pass a credit check and need power fast
• Avoid If: You qualify for any traditional fixed-rate plan—even with a deposit, you’ll save hundreds per year
• Deposit Required: No. The $40 startup balance goes directly toward your electricity costs.

---

Company Overview

Payless Power is the prepaid electricity company that other prepaid providers get measured against. Founded in 2005 by three brothers—Brandon, Byron, and Brian Young—and still family-owned through Young Energy, LLC. Twenty-one years in a market where prepaid competitors come and go. That track record means something.

The numbers are strong. 4.5 stars from 13,722 customer reviews [paylesspower.com/about-us/reviews, April 2026]. 87% of customers rate them 4 or 5 stars. Texas Electricity Ratings named them a Top 3 Best REP in 2024 and gave them a Gold Tier Award in 2023. BBB accredited. For a prepaid provider serving a customer base that most large companies ignore, those are real numbers.

But here is the truth about prepaid electricity: it costs more. The current plans on ComparePower run 19.0-19.1 cents/kWh [ComparePower marketplace data, April 2026]. A traditional fixed-rate plan from a mid-tier provider might run 11-14 cents/kWh for the same electricity on the same grid. On a $150 monthly bill, you could be paying $30-$50 extra per month for the privilege of no credit check. That is $360-$600 per year.

If your credit qualifies you for any traditional plan—even one that requires a $100-$200 deposit—you will save money within a few months. The deposit pays for itself through lower rates. We have run this math thousands of times.

Payless Power exists for people who cannot clear a credit check anywhere else. For that population, they are the best option in Texas. CEO Brandon Young also founded Texans for Fair Energy Billing (TXFEB), a consumer advocacy alliance focused on protecting customers from excessive rate increases—a sign that this company actually thinks about the people it serves.

Where Payless Power Operates

Payless Power serves over 400 deregulated communities across Texas through all four major TDU territories [paylesspower.com/areas-we-serve]:

• Oncor: Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Plano, Frisco, Irving, Garland, Mesquite, Carrollton, and surrounding suburbs
• CenterPoint Energy: Houston, Katy, Sugar Land, The Woodlands, Baytown, Pasadena, Missouri City, Galveston
• AEP Texas (Central and North): Corpus Christi, Abilene, Midland, Odessa, Laredo, McAllen, Brownsville, Del Rio, San Angelo, Victoria
• TNMP (Texas-New Mexico Power): Lewisville, Texas City, Friendswood, Angleton, Fort Stockton, and scattered areas across the state

Major metros plus dozens of smaller cities: Waco, Killeen, Temple, Tyler, Lubbock, Wichita Falls, Nacogdoches, Round Rock, Pflugerville, and more. If you are in a deregulated area, Payless Power is probably available.

Austin and San Antonio run municipal utilities. No retail provider—including Payless Power—can sell there.

How Prepaid Electricity Actually Works

This is the core of Payless Power’s business. Understanding the mechanics matters because prepaid electricity is fundamentally different from traditional billing.

The startup: You pay $40 to open your account. This is not a deposit—it goes directly toward your electricity balance. No credit check. No approval process beyond a valid Texas address and Social Security number. If you have a smart meter (most Texas homes do—7.3 million and counting), you can be connected the same day, typically within 4-6 hours.

Daily billing: Your smart meter reports your usage to Payless Power every day. Each morning, they calculate what you used two days prior and deduct the cost from your balance. You get a daily notification—text, email, or both—showing what you consumed, what it cost, and how many days of electricity your remaining balance will cover.

The daily alert is the product. This is what separates Payless Power from traditional billing. Instead of a surprise $300 bill at the end of August, you see “$8.47 used yesterday, 6 days remaining” every single morning. That daily feedback loop changes behavior. Customers who pay attention to their alerts use less electricity because they see the cost in real time.

Adding funds: Three ways to reload your balance:

• Online: Log into account.paylesspower.com and pay with Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express
• Phone: Automated payment system at 866-963-9353, available 24/7
• Cash: MoneyGram locations nationwide using Receive Code 14715

You can also set up autopay to top off your balance automatically when it gets low.

When your balance hits zero: Your power disconnects. No grace period. This is the sharpest edge of prepaid electricity. Unlike a traditional plan where you get a bill, then a late notice, then a 10-day disconnection warning—prepaid just stops. Your account stays open and charges may continue to accumulate even while disconnected.

Reconnection: Pay at least $20 to bring your balance positive, plus a $25 reconnection fee. Power typically comes back within 2 hours if your smart meter is accessible. But if your balance runs out on a Friday night or during a holiday, you may be waiting—Payless Power’s customer service operates Monday through Friday, 9am to 5pm.

The protection you should know about: Texas law prohibits disconnection during extreme weather emergencies, and providers must offer deferred payment plans during those events. Medical exemptions also exist if someone in your household has a critical condition requiring electricity. These protections apply to prepaid customers too.

Plans and Pricing

Payless Power currently offers two plans on ComparePower [marketplace data, April 2026]:

12 Month - Prepaid - No Deposit & No Credit Check

• 12-month term at approximately 19.0 cents/kWh
• 26% renewable energy content
• $49 early termination fee
• No deposit, no credit check

6 Month - Prepaid - No Deposit & No Credit Check

• 6-month term at approximately 19.1 cents/kWh
• 26% renewable energy content
• $49 early termination fee
• No deposit, no credit check

Both plans work the same way: prepaid daily billing with the $40 startup balance. The 12-month plan is marginally cheaper per kWh. The 6-month plan gives you more flexibility if you expect your credit situation to improve or you plan to move.

What the rates actually mean at different usage levels:

At 1,000 kWh/month (average Texas home), 19 cents/kWh puts your monthly electricity cost around $190 before TDU delivery charges. A traditional fixed-rate plan at 12 cents/kWh would run around $120 for the same usage. That is a $70/month difference—$840 per year.

At 500 kWh/month (small apartment, light usage), the gap narrows. Prepaid’s higher rate costs you about $95 versus $60 on a traditional plan—$35/month difference, $420/year.

At 2,000 kWh/month (large home, summer A/C running hard), the gap widens painfully. Roughly $380 versus $240 on traditional. That is $140/month or $1,680/year. Heavy usage and prepaid do not mix.

The $49 ETF: Payless Power’s early termination fee is among the lowest in Texas. Most traditional providers charge $150-$295. The ETF is waived if you can prove you moved to a new home. If you cancel with fewer than 15 days remaining on your contract, no ETF applies.

What they do not offer:

• Free nights or weekends plans
• Time-of-use options
• Variable-rate plans
• Solar buyback
• 100% renewable plans (current plans include 26% renewable content)

Green Energy

Payless Power’s current plans include 26% renewable energy content [ComparePower marketplace data, April 2026]. That is not zero, but it is not a green plan either. The renewable portion comes from renewable energy credits included in their energy mix.

If green energy is a priority, Payless Power is not your provider. Companies like Green Mountain Energy (100% renewable) or Chariot Energy (100% solar) are built around that. But if you need prepaid and want to know where the electrons come from, 26% renewable is better than many budget providers offer.

Deposits and Credit

This is the entire reason Payless Power exists: no credit check, no deposit, on every plan they offer.

Traditional providers run a credit check when you sign up. Bad credit means a deposit—often $175 to $500+ depending on your home size and usage history. Some people cannot clear a credit check at all: recent bankruptcy, no credit history, previous utility debt.

Payless Power skips all of that. The $40 startup balance is not a deposit. It goes directly toward your electricity costs—the first kilowatt-hours you consume come from that $40. Whether your credit score is 800 or 400 or nonexistent, the signup process is identical.

Their fixed-rate plans also require no credit check and no deposit [paylesspower.com/fixed-rate-electricity-plans-texas]. The $40 connection fee applies to your first bill. This is unusual—most providers that offer fixed-rate plans require a credit check.

Who this actually helps:

• People rebuilding credit after bankruptcy or financial hardship
• Young adults with no credit history
• Recent immigrants without established U.S. credit
• Anyone with previous utility debt that blocks traditional enrollment
• People who simply do not want their credit pulled

Customer Service

Payless Power runs a smaller customer service operation than the big-name providers. That is the trade-off for lower overhead and no credit requirements.

Contact:

• Phone: 866-963-9353
• Hours: Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm (new customers and customer care)
• After-hours: Automated phone payment available 24/7; after-hours contact form on website
• Bilingual: Full Spanish-language support (separate Spanish website at paylesspower.com/es/)
• Mail: PO Box 975428, Dallas, TX 75397-5428

Online account portal: account.paylesspower.com for balance checks, payments, usage history, and autopay setup. Monthly statements provided.

What works well:

• Daily balance and usage alerts via text and email—this is genuinely useful and the core of the prepaid experience
• 4.5-star rating from 13,722 reviews—75% of customers give 5 stars [paylesspower.com reviews page]
• Bilingual support in English and Spanish
• Multiple payment channels including cash at MoneyGram locations (Receive Code 14715)
• Online portal for account management without needing to call

What does not work well:

• No 24/7 live support. If your power disconnects at 6pm Friday, you cannot reach a human until Monday morning at 9am. The automated phone system can process payments 24/7, but if there is an issue beyond adding funds, you are stuck.
• No live chat on the website
• Customer complaints about billing disputes and unexpected charges make up the bulk of the 8% of 1-2 star reviews
• $25 reconnection fee on top of the minimum $20 balance required to restore service—so a disconnection costs you at least $45 to fix
• Some customers report balance depleting faster than expected, especially during summer A/C season when daily costs can spike to $8-$12 per day

The weekend problem: This is the biggest operational risk with Payless Power specifically. Prepaid power disconnects when your balance hits zero—no warning period, no grace. If that happens outside business hours and you have any issue beyond simply adding funds through the automated system, you are waiting until Monday. Traditional providers are legally required to give you 10 days notice before disconnection. Prepaid has no such buffer.

The Bottom Line

Payless Power is the gold standard for prepaid electricity in Texas. If you cannot pass a credit check, start here. Twenty-one years in business, 13,700+ reviews averaging 4.5 stars, $40 to start, same-day connection, daily usage alerts that actually help you manage costs. The $49 ETF is among the lowest in Texas.

But prepaid electricity is expensive. At 19+ cents/kWh, you are paying a significant premium over traditional fixed-rate plans that run 11-14 cents/kWh for the same power on the same grid. For an average Texas home, that premium adds up to $500-$800 per year.

If you can scrape together a deposit for a traditional plan, do that instead. A $200 deposit on a 12-cent fixed-rate plan pays for itself in 3-4 months through rate savings alone. You get the deposit back after 12 months of on-time payments. The math is not close.

Prepaid makes sense for:

• People actively rebuilding credit (use Payless Power for 6-12 months, then switch to a traditional plan when your credit improves)
• Renters who move every few months and do not want long contracts
• Anyone who needs power today, no credit check, no questions asked
• People who genuinely prefer pay-as-you-go budgeting and will monitor their daily alerts
• Short-term situations: subletting, temporary housing, transitional living

Everyone else: Shop traditional fixed-rate plans first. Even a small deposit saves you hundreds per year. Check current rates on ComparePower for your zip code.