ByCan You Get Reimbursement for a Power Outage From Reliant Energy?
Reliant Energy is an energy provider for Texas customers and a subsidiary of NRG Energy. They manage electricity generation and generally bill by kWh usage plus a few standard fees. Of course, it's those standard fees that become an issue when the power goes out. If you experience a power outage, can you still be charged by Reliant Energy for power usage? Can you get ?
These are good questions, with answers that Reliant invariably does not want to give. If your recent power bill reflects charges for days where you did not have access to electricity, DoNotPay can help you reduce your bill to the correct and fair amount.
Does Reliant Energy Take Responsibility for Power Outages?
No, they do not. While they have a web page for reporting an outage, they make their stance on outage responsibility clear.
"We supply your electricity; not deliver it." - Reliant Energy
What does this mean? Not only does Reliant not offer an outage map or accept outage reports, but they also very clearly don't take responsibility when power lines go down, or power fails to reach your home. As a result, they feel that they are not responsible for any consequences of a local power outage. This might be true if there weren't monthly standards in how they bill.
You are entitled to if you are experiencing a power outage.
What Causes Power Outage?
There are several causes of power outages. Some of these are:
| Natural Causes | Strong winds, lightning, snow, ice on the lines, and rain can cause a power outage. A tree branch contacting power lines is an addition. |
| Equipment Failures | Not every time a piece of equipment can do its job perfectly. It requires maintenance and repairs once broken. It includes problems with switches, cables, transformers, etc. |
| Human Error | There are times when we unintentionally contact power lines causing power outages. Examples are traffic accidents and placing an antenna near a power cable. |
| Scheduled Maintenance | Part of maintaining the safety and performance of equipment is maintenance. Sometimes scheduled maintenance is needed to avoid accidents in the future. |
How Does Reliant Energy Calculate Your Bill for Power Outage Days?
Reliant Energy provides a few different billing structures based on your location and the plan you selected. In most cases, you will be charged both a usage fee for the utility equipment (ex: power lines) and potentially also a "Base Charge" for your monthly service.
When the power goes out, your kWh usages should go to zero for that time, which means you shouldn't be billed for any long periods without power. But if you pay monthly flat fees, you are essentially being billed for days in which you had no power. Even if Reliant isn't directly responsible for power line damage or repairs, they are still responsible for charging you for days when you didn't have power.
How to Seek Compensation for Power Outage Charges From Reliant Energy
Because Reliant energy doesn't officially take responsibility for outages, getting reimbursement for a power outage from Reliant Energy is no guarantee. You will need to contact customer service directly and explain the situation. You may need to insist on speaking to a manager or threaten to switch energy providers before your phone rep is even allowed to consider giving you a refund.
Big energy providers like Reliant depend on most people not taking the effort to defend their bill when these "oversights" happen, and someone is billed for time without electricity. With enough force, and possibly with the help of a lawyer, local news service, or an online third-party professional service like DoNotPay, you can get reimbursed for unfair charges for power during a power outage.
How DoNotPay Can Help You Get Reimbursement for a Power Outage From Reliant Energy
Often, all it takes is someone willing to push on a big company like Reliant Energy before they're willing to budge on fair financial compensation. If you need to be reimbursed for unfair power charges during an outage, DoNotPay can spend those hours on the phone for you.
It's often more effective to have someone argue as your proxy because we are not a Reliant Energy customer, and we're not arguing for ourselves. Reliant can't redirect us to the local utility company or give us the run-around. We know all the usual customer service avoidance tricks, and our team can get results where local residents and private customers would be stonewalled. Your electric provider isn't going to make it easy for you to get compensation for the money you lost during a Reliant Energy power outage. With the DoNotPay app, you can:
- Have a partner in your corner to do the hard work for you; and
- You can enjoy success and recoup your losses during the power outage when you choose this app.
Let us fight for your reimbursement for power outage charges, so you get fair billing without the hassle of facing down Reliant's notorious responsibility-shrugging tactics.
If you want to get compensation for an outage but don't know where to start, DoNotPay has you covered in 9 easy steps:
- Go to the Outage Refunds product on DoNotPay.
- Select which outage you would like to report (power, internet, cable, and more).
- Select your energy provider and enter your account number.
- Indicate when the outage started and how long it lasted.
- Verify your account information.
- If you want to be reimbursed for losses related to a power outage, choose whether you want to be reimbursed for personal injuries, damaged property, or both.
- Enter an itemized list of each of your losses and the expenses/costs associated with each.
- Upload documents or photographic evidence that proves your losses. Also, add the names of any witnesses who can attest to your losses if possible.
- Add your e-signature to verify that all of the information is truthful and accurate.
DoNotPay Outage Loss Recovery Works With Any Company, Anywhere
Have you or someone you know experienced other outage-related losses or unfair billing? DoNotPay can help. Our outage compensation services work with any company, anywhere in the US. Here are a few other helpful links to recoup your outage losses.
- Internet Outage Reimbursement
- Power Outage Compensation and Claims
- Spectrum Internet
- Oncor Power Outage
- DTE Power Outages
- PGE Power Outages
What Else Can DoNotPay Do?
DoNotPay was founded on the idea of making life easier and more affordable in any way we can. Explore our many services to find a few more items we can take off your checklist and help you save money or avoid unnecessary charges.
- Insurance Claims
- Help with Bills
- File a Complaint
- Robocall Compensation
- Neighbor Complaints
- Customer Services
- Parking Tickets
You shouldn't have to pay for the electricity you didn't receive. Even though Reliant Energy might not control power pole repairs, they are still responsible for charging you for power when no power was received. DoNotPay is here to help you get fair billing and outage loss compensation.