FAQs

Pogo Energy offers the same electricity as others without the ball and chain. Pogo allows you more freedom and control. We don’t require a long-term contract and we don’t ask for a deposit. Since Pogo is a pay-as-you-go electric service provider, you won’t get a bill at the end of the month. Pogo sends daily text messages or emails to inform you about your electric usage. You charge up your account with as much or as little as you like and can adjust your usage to stay within budget. Pogo offers you more control, whereas other electric companies take control.

The Pogo Promise is a commitment we make to you, our customer.

-We commit to treating you fairly while providing you with low-cost electricity.
-We promise not to trick you.
-Finally, we commit to no “gotchas” like so many companies do

With Pogo’s prepay electricity service, you can expect honesty, transparency, and a helping hand when you need assistance keeping the lights on.

Pre-Approved Deferred Payment Plan (DPP): We pre-approve all our customers for a DPP without any fees, interest, or credit checks (within certain limits). This way, if your account balance ever goes negative, and you need a little help paying that balance, we have you covered. Please see our FAQ on the Deferred Payment Plan and PogoEnergy.com/legal-privacy for all the terms and conditions relating to our DPP.

Satisfaction Guarantee: We’re so confident you’ll love Pogo that if you’re ever unhappy with our service, you can switch to another provider without penalty. We will refund any unused service balance (net of any print and post fees). Customers on a Deferred Payment Plan must pay their remaining balance before switching.

Pogo Perks is Pogo Energy’s customer rewards program with daily deals and giveaways. Pogo customers are automatically enrolled in Pogo Perks. Customers receive Pogo Points every month and can redeem them in more than 500,000 ways.

Pogo Energy’s service is as reliable as the big electric companies. What’s more, if your area experiences any kind of power outage, weather-related or otherwise, we will connect you with your Transmission and Distribution Utility (TDU) provider, who is responsible for delivering electric service safely and securely.

No. With Pogo Energy, you will not have to sign a long-term contract when you enroll in our pay-as-you-go electricity plan. If you decide to leave Pogo for any reason, you are free to do so without paying a fee as long as you do not have a DPP set up to pay a negative balance on your account.

Pay-as-you-go electricity, better known as prepaid electricity or prepay power plans, allows you to deposit funds into your account and use those funds to cover the cost of your electric usage. When the funds in your account run low, you deposit more to keep the lights on. This allows you to know how much electricity you are using so you can adjust your energy usage and stay within a budget.

Pogo does not charge you late fees or disconnect fees: no surprises, no hassles, and no BS. With a pay-as-you-go electricity plan, there is no credit check and no deposit. When you have pay-as-you-go power, you won’t receive an electric bill.

Postpaid electricity plans are almost always a “surprise” as in, “Surprise, you used this much electricity this month and owe us this much – time to pay up.” We call it “bill shock” (BS). If you don’t pay your energy bill on time, you will likely get hit with late payment fees. Postpaid electricity companies often require that customers have a credit check and pay a deposit based on the results before electric service is started. Pogo doesn’t do any of that stuff, and that’s why Pogo is different.

Back in 2002, Texas transformed (or, using a big fancy word, deregulated) the way electricity is delivered to consumers in about 85% of the state. Deregulation separated the electricity generators (power plants), the distributors (TDUs or TDSPs), and the retail electric providers (REPs). Pogo Energy is a pay-as-you-go REP that participates in virtually all of the deregulated electricity markets in Texas.

Pogo has an easy 4-step process:
Step 1: Enroll online in under a minute (no deposit, no credit check, no long-term commitment, no B.S).

Step 2: Sign up with autopay for a “set it and forget it” experience. If autopay isn’t for you, you can still charge up online or go to one of our cash payment locations. Either way, with $60, you can get same-day power with no strings attached – cancel anytime without risk. For same-day power, you must sign up and charge up your account before 6 PM, Monday through Saturday. Same-day power does not apply to holidays or Sundays.

Step 3: Get daily updates and start saving money while saving the world (you’re using 100% renewable energy with Pogo)—without any extra effort. Take control and recharge when you want, with what you want.

Step 4: Recharge your Pogo account when the balance gets low to stay powered up. That’s it. Pogo makes getting and keeping the lights on as easy as 1-2-3…and 4.

Pogo commits to keeping your power on. Pogo Energy will not turn off your power at night, on weekends, or on holidays—and certainly not during extreme weather (hot or cold), as determined by the National Weather Service and your TDU. Your power remains on, even if your account balance goes negative during that time. The TDU holidays that apply are listed below.

Yes, probably. Pogo Energy provides pay-as-you-go electricity across Texas in most deregulated areas. It’s easy to find out if it’s available to you. Just enter your address or zip code in our address look-up tool and see if Pogo can service you. Then, you can enroll online in under 2 minutes. If you have trouble, give Pogo a call, and a representative will help, or connect with us over chat.

We keep it simple. All we ask for is your name, physical address, email, and mobile number (that’s how we keep you updated and send balance alerts). We will never ask for your social security or driver’s license number, and we don’t run credit checks. We would like your birthday (you know, to send you Happy Birthday greetings), and you will have to create a password (for account access validation in the future), but that’s it. Enroll and start saving money immediately. Just visit PogoEnergy.com/enroll to get going, or you can chat or call us at 888.764.6669.

Give us one minute and we’ll give you same-day power on Monday through Saturday if you sign up and charge up your account with at least $60 before 6PM. Visit PogoEnergy.com/enroll or chat or call 888.764.6669. We’ll keep it fast and easy!

You can start your electric service with Pogo with as little as $60. Because we have no start-up fees, 100% of your initial charge-up goes to your energy account. This is not a deposit – it is your money that is used for your electricity as you go. Visit our Enroll page to get started to get started or chat or call us at 888.764.6669.

Yes, if you enroll and charge up your account at least $60 Monday through Saturday before 6 PM, we expect to have your service activated the same day. Same-day power does not apply to holidays or Sundays. We rely on support from the transmission and distribution utility (TDU) to get things going so we can’t provide a guarantee on the exact time, but we’ll do everything in our power to have you activated ASAP after you make your initial payment. What does this mean? As it gets later in the day, because we don’t control how fast the TDU processes our request to turn on your power, the same day may end up being the next day.

You can get your service started when you enroll before 6PM, Monday through Saturday. If you are already a customer making a payment to reconnect power, then we’re available 24 x 7 x 365. Just charge-up your account. Electric service should be started the same day if we receive payment before 6pm Monday through Saturday.

Yes, we encourage you to switch. We’re so confident we can save you money and provide a hassle-free, no surprise charges along the way that we make switching to Pogo’s prepay power plan, easy and simple. Plus, most providers require you to pay them a deposit. So you’ll get that back when you switch to us (less anything you might still owe them on your final bill).

Yes. Enroll with Pogo Energy, make your first payment of $60 to activate your service, and any deposit you have with your previous provider should be refunded to you per the requirements of the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT).

It should not cost you a thing to switch. If you have a deposit with your current provider you should get that back, too. You may also want to check if they have an early termination fee.

We got you covered. Just enroll with us and we’ll take care of notifying your current provider that you switched to Pogo Energy. There should be no service interruption whatsoever.

After you enroll and charge up your account with at least $60 to activate service with Pogo Energy, we should have you up and running the same day.

No. We work directly with your current provider to ensure that your electricity stays on during the transition, with no glitches or interruptions.

Pogo Energy is the electricity that moves with you. As long as the new place is in our service area, you’re all good – and you keep your current balance through the move. To transfer your service, simply click to chat or call us at 888.764.6669. All we need is the new address, the date for stopping service at the old place and the date for beginning service at the new place. Simple, right?!

For more information, click MOVE for more details.

You bet. During enrollment, you will have the option to start service immediately or pick a future date to coincide with a move or end of a contract. All you have to do is charge up your account with at least $60 after you enroll. Helpful tip: if you’re moving into a new home or apartment, you may want to schedule your power to turn on a day early. The TDUs may take all day to get power on to your new location, and we have no control over that. We agree with you that the TDUs are way too slow and unhelpful in getting your power turned on, so plan ahead and schedule your power-on a day early.

Unfortunately, you can’t (we’d welcome you with open arms, but it’s out of our hands). The Texas Public Utility Commission does not allow Critical Care Residential Customers or Chronic Condition Residential Customers to enroll in any pay-as-you-go (prepaid) electricity services.

We provide no-contract electricity in deregulated areas of Texas, including Dallas, Ft. Worth, Houston, Corpus Christi, Rio Grande Valley, and many other locations.
To enroll with Pogo, you will need a mobile phone number and email address so we can send you a message regarding your account.
You will not need a deposit, driver’s license, or social security number, and we will not run a credit check.

Our goal is to save you money on electricity every month. You can check to see what our electricity price (rate) is in your area.

Absolutely not! Pogo doesn’t require a deposit. You can get started with as little as $60, without a deposit, annual contract, or credit check. Go to PogoEnergy.com/Enroll to enroll online in as little as one minute and start saving today, or you can click to chat or call us at 888.764.6669.

While we can’t guarantee that we’ll never raise rates, our goal is to provide you with predictable, reliable service, even without a long-term contract or deposit.

But be aware that summer in Texas means hot weather. That means your air conditioning unit is working harder to keep up. You may hear it chugging along like the little engine that could. Just like people, it could seem a bit sluggish on a 100+ degree day – and add the bonus of humidity, and your AC unit may seem like it needs almost as much relief as you do. This means even though you’re paying the same energy rate, you’ll likely be using twice as much energy in the summer, which means an increase in your total monthly expense (sorry, but we don’t control the weather in Texas!).

A Deferred Payment Plan (or DPP) is our no fee, no interest, no credit check payment plan that we establish with you in the event your service balance goes negative (or is about to go negative) and you need a little help making a payment. When you’ve started a DPP with us, two important things will take place.

Future payments will be split so that 80% of your payment goes into your service account and 20% goes to pay down your DPP. And to be clear, we do not charge any fees or interest on your DPP account. This is our way of helping you keep your power on.

Second, when you establish a DPP with us, your account will be subject to a switch hold. A “switch hold” means that you may not switch to another electric service provider if you have an outstanding balance with Pogo.

To request a DPP, please let Edison help you via chat. Type DPP in your chat window to get started. Or call us at 888.764.6669 and select option 4 from the menu. You may also call us to establish a new DPP, even if you’re currently under a DPP. Visit PogoEnergy.com/legal-privacy for all the terms and conditions relating to our Deferred Payment Plan.

A Deferred Account Balance, aka DAB, is a temporary holding account for out-of-the-ordinary charges and fees that impact your account balance. Instead of Pogo charging your account all at once, we move the charge to your DAB. You can then pay for these charges and fees slowly over time. A DAB account is a convenience account that we keep on your behalf.

For example, your TDU sends an official monthly bill that includes your daily usage. Sometimes, this monthly amount is different from the sum of all the customary usage charges.

If you have a DAB account balance, Pogo will trickle a little out of the DAB and add it to your daily update. Specifics may change, but it’s usually around 5% of your DAB balance and no more than $3.50 in a single day. If you terminate your service with Pogo (and we hope you don’t), we’ll add any DAB balance to your final account balance.

You may also speak with customer care if you have any additional questions or concerns regarding your DAB.

Our customer service hours are Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5 pm Central. If you need to reach us, please click to chat or call us during business hours at 888.764.6669.

Pogo Energy provides electricity without a monthly bill – you pay in advance for electricity as you go. However, sometimes you need proof that you have electricity with us, or you just want to see your history of payments and usage. You can download a copy from your Account menu under Usage History, or we can email you an official “Summary of Usage and Payments” (SUP) document for free, or we can print and mail you an SUP for a $5.00 fee. Click to chat or call us during business hours at 888.764.6669 to request a SUP.

We understand that things don’t always go as planned. Click to chat or call us at 888.764.6669 during our business hours and ask about our Deferred Payment Plan (DPP) options. We’ll do our best to help.

If you need additional help, check out the local Comprehensive Energy Assistance Program (CEAP), a federal program designed to help you pay your electricity bill.

Welcome to Pogo and a better way to consume your electricity – finally! Pay-as-you-go energy with Pogo works a little differently than postpaid electricity services. With a postpaid account, you can expect monthly bills with BS and a no-nonsense demand to pay. Postpaid energy has late payment fees, disconnect fees, early termination charges, and other hidden fees – in other words, tons of BS (bill shock). That’s not how Pogo rolls! We’ve got your back and will help you save $$$ while you save the world with 100% clean, renewable energy – just like the superhero you are!

As a Pogo customer, you get the benefits of no deposit, no contracts, no surprises, no hassles, and no ‘gotcha’ fees. Choose how you want to power up your account. Autopay takes the worry and stress out of recharging your energy account, or you can choose when and how much you recharge as you go. Either way, with only $60, you are good to go. You control your budget and can recharge as much or as little as you need. Pogo tells you how much electricity you’re using each day. From your dashboard, you’ll also know how much electricity you’ve used and how much you have left.

Welcome to the Pogo community, and congratulations on giving your old energy company the finger!

While we hate to see you go, you have absolutely no long-term commitments with us. If you switch to another electricity provider, they will notify us, and your service will transfer to them automatically. Plus, we’ll return all your unused funds back to you (unless we need to print and mail you a check, then we will deduct $5.00 for handling and postage).

In the event of an electricity-related emergency, such as a power outage, or in the event of problems related to the Transmission & Distribution Utility (TDU), please contact your TDU.
-Oncor (DFW and West Texas): 888.313.4747
-CenterPoint (Houston and surrounding areas): 800.332.7143
-AEP Central (CP&L Area): 866.223.8508
-AEP North (WTU Area): 866.223.8508
-TNMP (Texas-New Mexico Power): 888.866.7456

There are no surprise bills at the end of the month with Pogo Energy. In fact, there are no bills at all. You can always check your current service balance and estimated number of days of power remaining at PogoEnergy.com/MyAccount. For a Summary of Usage and Payments (SUP), click to chat or call us at 888.764.6669, and we can email an SUP to you for free, or we can print and post an SUP to you for a small fee.

A switch hold may be placed on an account when you have agreed to the terms of a Deferred Payment Plan with Pogo Energy (or your current electricity provider). If you feel that a switch hold has been placed on your account by mistake, please chat or call us at 888.764.6669.

If you are experiencing switch hold issues during enrollment, it may be due to the previous occupant. To remove the switch hold, you will need to show proof of occupancy so that the TDU or the previous REP will agree to remove the switch hold so you can continue enrollment. For more information, please visit Switch Hold Release.

While Pogo Energy provides your electricity service, we do not generate electricity, nor do we manage the extensive network (or power grid) that distributes electricity to your home. This distribution is the responsibility of the TDU, and they are responsible for power outages and repairs. We also pass through the TDU charges without markup. This can be up to 50% of your monthly spend – it’s not us, really; it’s them. If you have active service with us and are experiencing a power outage, you should contact your TDU. Find your TDU’s contact information on our Contact Us page.

Pogo provides you with SMS keywords that help you get the information you want easily and quickly. Text our short code to 24197 to get started. Here’s the list of keywords and descriptions.

BAL – balance request
LAST – last recharge amount
DPP – request a Deferred Payment Plan through Edison, our virtual agent
OUTAGE – information on reporting a power outage
BARCODE – sends you your barcode (for security reasons, your barcode is refreshed periodically. If you have difficulty using your barcode to make a payment, please re-text “barcode” to receive an updated barcode).
RECHARGE – options on how to recharge your account
ASSIST – provides info to auto-response SMS keywords
MOVE – info on how to take Pogo with you when you move
SWITCH HOLD – explanation and process for switch hold
HOLIDAY – explanation of how things work on a holiday
START – subscribe to SMS notification
STOP – unsubscribe from marketing SMS notifications

Yes. If you are moving you can transfer your Pogo electric service to your new address, as long as your new place is in our service area. Your current balance will transfer over with you to your new home. To transfer your service, chat with us online or call 888–764–6669. All we need is the new address, the date for stopping service at the old place, and the date for beginning service at the new place. Simple, right?! Click MOVE for details.

The ESI ID is a unique number that identifies your electric service location. If you are experiencing ESI ID hold issues during enrollment, the previous occupant might have left without clearing an outstanding debt. To remove the ESI ID hold, you will need to show proof of occupancy before you can continue enrollment. For more information, please click here.

While Pogo Energy does not provide direct assistance, Congress boosted funding for the LIHEAP energy assistance program by more than 7% nationwide which provided an energy assistance allotment for Texas of $152 million in 2018. As all of us Texans experience higher bills during the summer season, these LIHEAP funds could provide critical assistance.

If you’re a Texan in need of electricity assistance, we encourage you to call 877.399.8939 and talk with a CEAP administrator for your area. Prepaid energy services, as well as postpaid energy services, are eligible for this assistance.

Additionally, at Pogo, we do have our deferred payment program in the event your account balance goes negative and you need a way to pay it back over time. Let Edison help you via chat. Type DPP in your chat window or call us at 888.764.6669 and select option 4 from the voice menu. You may also call us to establish a new DPP, even if you’re currently on a DPP. Click here for all the terms and conditions relating to our Deferred Payment Plan.

We also accept payments from local charities and support groups on your behalf. Contact us at [email protected] to learn more.

There are several options to choose from to add funds to your Pogo Energy account.
 Pay online with a debit or credit card, 24 x 7 x 365. Go to PogoEnergy.com/Recharge. Recharge with Google Pay. * Pay with Apple Pay. * Add funds to your account by calling 888.764.6669. * Make a cash deposit at one of our cash payment locations. Visit PogoEnergy.com/Locations to find an authorized payment location near you. These locations typically charge a cash handling fee. (fees and hours vary by location)
 
*No payment transaction fee is added when you recharge your account with at least $60.00. A $5.00 fee will be added to transactions that are less than $60.00.

We don’t charge a fee if you pay late, as long as you pay before service is disconnected. It’s our privilege to have you as a customer, and we hate fees as much as you do.

Yes. We’re always happy to receive a payment and restore your power. You only have five days to make a payment once your service has been suspended. After five days your service is disconnected.

If your account balance goes negative and your power is disconnected, there is a $25 reconnect fee. You will need to pay the reconnect fee and recharge your account so that the balance is above zero. If you need help paying the reconnect fee, we will sweep the cost to your DAB so that you can pay it slowly over time.

Your electric service should be turned on within 2 hours once your account balance is over $0. Your TDU controls this timing, and you can contact them for more specific timing. Pogo will send you a message as soon as we reconnect your power.

When you pay with Apple Pay, Google Pay, or a credit or debit card, we do not charge a fee if you recharge your account with $60 or more. A $5.00 fee is added to transactions that are less than $60. The $5 transaction fee is because some banks charge us up to 30% when making a small transaction. To recharge now, make a deposit to your account with Google Pay, Apple Pay, call us at 888.764.6669 or visit PogoEnergy.com/Recharge.

Pogo also accepts cash at thousands of locations throughout Texas. Cash payment locations charge a cash handling fee. The fee is usually $2, but it can vary by location. We do not benefit from the fees charged at cash payment locations, and we don’t charging you fees in addition to their fees, regardless of the amount you’re adding to your account.

At the risk of being annoying, we’ll send you a message using your preferred contact method (either text or email) before your balance hits $0, and we will definitely let you know if it gets to $0 (or lower). Two hours before your electric service is disconnected, you will receive a final alert. This way, you will still have a couple of hours to recharge your account—we know how busy you can get (and we all procrastinate).

If you need a little help to keep your power on, let us know and we can likely add funds to your account. You can pay us back over time with our Deferred Payment Plan option. Lastly, you’ll always receive a text (or email) receipt for all of your charge ups, so you’ll have a record of what’s going on.

You have questions; we have answers. A Transmission and Distribution Utility, (TDU) is a company that transmits and distributes electricity to your home from power generators. TDUs manage “The Grid”. The TDU’s manage the poles, wires, and other high-voltage stuff that distributes electricity from the power generators to your home.

That’s the TDU, and that’s how we back up our claim that you get the same power from us as you do from the “big guys” – we all get it from the same generators and delivered to your home by the same TDUs. The TDU will handle repairs and power outages. And because they’re transmitting and delivering all this power to your home, they charge a fee, two fees actually: a monthly TDU Charge and a per kWh (usage) TDU Charge. We simply pass those charges through to you without markup. These charges can be up to 40% or more of your monthly energy expense. We don’t like them either, but the TDU is important as they connect your home to the power grid. They manage all the high voltage wires and repairs.

TDU charges are the costs your local TDU charges to get electricity to your home and take care of the power network. Your TDU manages the high-voltage wires as well as the meter for your home, storm restoration, and lots more. We do not mark up these charges. TDU charges apply to all residential customers serviced by the TDU. It does not matter who their provider is. For more details on your TDU charges, chat with or call us and ask for a Statement of Usage and Payments (call it a “SUP” and we’ll know what you’re looking for).

Yes. TDU charges can change — not very often — but never say never. It is something Pogo does not have control over.

There are two different TDU charges: monthly and usage. We pass through the monthly charges on a daily basis and then do a true-up for months that aren’t 30 days (you know, like January, February, March, etc.). We also pass through the usage charges each day based on your actual usage (in kilowatt hours, aka kWh).

For a full breakdown of all the TDU charge components, here’s a useful summary of the current TDU charges. Note: TDUs serve specific areas within Texas. Generally, ONCOR serves the Dallas/ Ft. Worth area (DFW) and parts of central/west Texas; CenterPoint Energy serves the Houston area; AEP Texas Central generally serves Corpus Christi and the Rio Grande Valley; and AEP Texas North serves parts of north and central Texas.

The new ERCOT Market Securitization Finance Charge is a fee that ERCOT is implementing to collect the money that they billed to electric companies that have gone out of business due to the February 2021 storm, thus leaving an unpaid balance. ERCOT is passing on the unpaid charges (debt) to Texas retail electric providers who remain in business and to their customers.

We believe that all energy providers and customers in Texas must pay ERCOT additional money to cover their losses. If you want further information about Subchapters M and N to Chapter 39 of the Public Utility Regulatory Act, read it on ERCOT’s website.