Reliant Energy Reviews

I want to share how unhappy I am with Reliant's way of doing business. A few weeks ago, I was told about a $250 fee just to move my service to a new apartment, which is crazy since I'd already put down a deposit. On top of that, my dad's first bill came to $557, which is way too high. When I found out that the $250 deposit wouldn't come back for a full year, I thought that was pretty bad. A deposit that was already paid should move with the service to the new place, plain and simple. Reliant wouldn't be somewhere I'd send anyone based on what happened. A different company like TXU handles things much better. I've contacted Reliant multiple times on my father's behalf.

I'm very frustrated with Reliant Energy. Years ago I was a customer, and when I moved to a new house in February 2024, I signed back up with their Truly Free Nights 100 percent Solar 20 plan. A couple months in, they offered me an upgrade to their Keep Your Cash Nights and Weekends 36 month plan as a loyal customer reward. It sounded amazing so I went for it, thinking they were giving me more benefits with free nights and weekends on top of what I already had. When my bill hit $746.18 for my small 880 square foot home, I couldn't believe how small the nights and weekends credit was, only $28.05. I talked to support and found out that this supposed upgrade was actually a terrible downgrade that punishes you for committing longer. I asked to go back to my old plan with just free nights and got told it would cost me $395 in cancellation fees. This is unacceptable.

A payment wasn't showing up when it should have and I was stressed about getting charged late. One of their customer service team members, Cintia, got right on it and handled the whole thing thoroughly. The peace of mind knowing she made sure I wouldn't have a late payment was huge. Very satisfied with how they took care of me.

My payment wasn't showing up on their end and I was worried about being late. A rep named Cintia stepped in and took care of everything right away. She made sure I wouldn't get hit with a late charge. Really appreciated how fast and thorough she handled it.

Reliant reached out offering to renew my contract. Since they wouldn't put anything in writing, I decided to shop around and found a company charging 20 to 25 percent less. That's when Reliant slapped me with an early termination fee. Turns out I wasn't really up for renewal yet. They were trying to lock me in 6 months early but made it sound like a fantastic new deal. When I called them back, they wouldn't drop the fee or even lower it even though I was 30 months into a 36 month agreement. They wouldn't give me my old rate if I switched back, and they refused to match the competitor's pricing either, still charging 20 to 25 percent more. That phone call ate up 43 minutes of my time, and they kept saying they understood but clearly didn't. They couldn't even email their offers or put terms in writing.

I called about switching to Reliant and the rep told me she had a fixed rate of 10.55 cents per kilowatt hour available. I specifically asked if there would be any hidden fees or extra charges, and she said the only thing besides normal taxes would be a $9.95 charge if we went under 1000 kilowatt hours. I made sure to confirm again that it was truly a flat, fixed rate of 10.55 cents per kilowatt hour since I'm currently paying a flat 14 cents and didn't want to pay extra, and she confirmed it was a fixed flat rate with no changes. I recorded that call! But when the account confirmation came through by email, it showed a variable rate that could go up to 18.6 cents. Complete ripoff.

A news station asked Reliant why they knew a hurricane was coming, just like the last one, but didn't get ready for it. They waited until it hit and only then started preparing. Even after the storm passed, their rep said the service trucks hadn't even arrived yet. Reliant Energy doesn't give a damn about customers, they just care about money. If everyone switched to a different power company, that's what these guys need. Run them out of the area.

Without question the shadiest utility company I've ever worked with. They dropped my solar credits program and switched me to a standard plan, then pocketed the power my system generated that I didn't use myself. Unquestionably shady, underhanded, and should be part of a class action lawsuit.

Reliant acts like they're the only power company in existence. Wake up, people! There are tons of legitimate electric companies out there, and Reliant's customer support has hit rock bottom. If you've got Reliant, I'm telling you to look around at your other choices. You're being completely ripped off. Give another company a shot and I promise you won't be sorry. And hey, if you end up with a bad one, Reliant would take you back just so they can keep stealing from you.

Nobody told me upfront about the cancellation penalty. I only found out when I moved my service to a different company. By that point, Reliant wouldn't let me come back even though I wanted to switch back.