Green Mountain Energy vs Payless Power: Green Premium vs No Credit Check

At a Glance

Factor	Green Mountain Energy	Payless Power
Parent Company	NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG)	Young Energy (family-owned)
Years in Texas	29	21
Credit Check	Yes	No
Prepaid Available	No	Yes (core product)
Green Plans	Yes (100% renewable, all plans)	Yes (26% renewable included)
On ComparePower	Yes	Yes

Bottom Line: These companies serve completely different markets. Green Mountain is for customers with good credit who’ll pay premium for 100% renewable. Payless Power is for customers who can’t pass a credit check and need power today.

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The Corporate Reality

Green Mountain Energy is NRG Energy’s environmental brand. Fortune 500 parent. 29 years of 100% renewable operation. Your premium funds renewable energy certificates, NRG corporate overhead, and shareholder returns.

Payless Power is family-owned. The Young family started it 21 years ago in Dallas. No corporate parent. No publicly traded shares. They built the best prepaid electricity operation in Texas by serving customers the Fortune 500 companies won’t touch.

These companies don’t really compete. They serve different people in different situations.

What They Actually Sell

Green Mountain (all plans 100% renewable, credit required):

• Pollution Free Conserve 12/24 at 17.5 cents/kWh
• Pollution Free e-Plus 12/24 at 17.8 cents/kWh
• Green Savings Plus 24 at 21.7 cents/kWh
• Renewable Rewards solar buyback (three tiers)
• Green-e Energy certified
• 24/7 support, 4.8-star service rating

Payless Power (no credit check, no deposit):

• Prepaid: ~19+ cents/kWh, $40 to start, daily balance alerts
• Fixed-rate plans (6-12 months) also no credit check
• Same-day connection (sign up early, connected in 4-6 hours)
• $49 ETF (much lower than Green Mountain’s $150-$295)
• Bilingual support
• 4.5 stars from 13,700+ reviews
• 26% renewable content included

The pricing comparison at 1,200 kWh/month:

• Green Mountain at 17.5 cents: ~$210/month
• Payless prepaid at ~19 cents: ~$228/month
• Budget provider at ~12.5 cents: ~$150/month

Both charge above-market rates. Green Mountain for environmental credibility. Payless for no-credit-check access. Both premiums are real costs for different benefits.

The Credit & Deposit Question

This is the entire comparison for most people.

Credit score 650+? Neither is your best value. Budget providers beat Green Mountain on price. If you want green energy, Rhythm offers 100% renewable from 10.8 cents/kWh.

Credit score below 650? Payless Power. Green Mountain will reject you or demand a deposit. Payless approves everyone, no deposit, $40 to start.

Green Mountain’s deposit situation: Soft credit check. Fail it and you’re paying a deposit equal to roughly two months of estimated bills. At Green Mountain’s rates, that deposit is higher than most providers. No prepaid fallback.

Payless Power: No credit check on any plan. No deposit ever. $40 to start. Period.

The Verdict

Choose Green Mountain if:

• Your credit is good AND 100% renewable energy is your priority
• You want 29 years of environmental track record with Green-e verification
• Solar buyback for rooftop panels matters
• You’re willing to pay $210+/month for environmental credibility

Choose Payless Power if:

• Your credit can’t pass a check anywhere
• You need power connected today
• Pay-as-you-go budgeting fits your situation
• $40 to start is what you can afford right now
• You’re rebuilding credit and need a bridge to traditional plans

Choose neither if: Your credit is decent and price matters. Budget providers save $500-$700/year over both. The greenest and the most accessible are both among the most expensive—for very different reasons.