April marks the beginning of the most dangerous stretch of weather in Texas. The window from April through June is historically the peak of tornado season in the state, and 2026 is already living up to that reputation. Severe thunderstorms have been producing large hail, damaging straight-line winds, and tornadoes across parts of Texas since early in the month. AccuWeather forecasters have identified Texas as sitting squarely in the highest-risk corridor for hail damage this spring, and the broader severe weather outlook calls for an active season through at least June.
For prepaid electricity customers, storm season creates a specific set of challenges that traditional postpaid customers do not face in the same way. Understanding those differences—and preparing for them ahead of time—can be the difference between a minor inconvenience and a genuine financial headache.
How Power Outages Affect Prepaid Customers Differently
Here is what most people do not realize: when the power goes out, your prepaid balance stops draining. You are not being charged for electricity you are not using. That is the good news. The bad news is what happens when the power comes back on.
After a multi-day outage, everything in your home restarts at once. Your air conditioner kicks on and runs hard to bring the temperature back down from whatever it climbed to while the power was out. Your refrigerator and freezer go into overdrive to re-cool. If you have an electric water heater, it reheats an entire tank. This initial surge can consume significantly more energy than a normal day, and on a prepaid plan, you can watch that balance drop in real time.
The risk is not the outage itself. The risk is not having enough balance loaded when everything powers back on. If your account is low and you cannot top it up quickly—because roads are blocked, cell towers are down, or payment systems are offline—you could face a service interruption right when you need power the most.
Your Pre-Storm Checklist for Prepaid Electricity
1. Save Your Local TDU Outage Reporting Number
When the power goes out, you report it to your local Transmission and Distribution Utility (TDU), not your retail electricity provider. These are the companies that own and maintain the power lines in your area. Save these numbers in your phone now, before you need them:
CenterPoint Energy (Houston area): 800-332-7143. Oncor (Dallas-Fort Worth, Waco, parts of West Texas): 888-313-4747. AEP Texas (Corpus Christi, South Texas, parts of West Texas): 866-223-8508. TNMP (parts of Central and Southeast Texas): 888-866-7456.
2. Enroll in SMS Balance Alerts
During a storm, your phone may be the only communication tool you have, and internet access can be spotty. Make sure you have text-based balance alerts enabled with Now Power so you can check your account status even if the app or website is slow. Set your low-balance alert at a level that gives you at least a few days of cushion—not the bare minimum.
3. Keep a $20 to $40 Buffer on Your Account
Going into any week where severe weather is in the forecast, add a small buffer above your normal balance. Twenty to forty dollars is generally enough to absorb the post-outage energy surge without a scramble to reload. Think of it as the electricity equivalent of keeping gas in the tank before a storm. It is a small expense that prevents a much larger problem.
4. Know Where to Pay if Online Systems Go Down
Now Power accepts payments through multiple channels. If your home internet is out and your phone is on limited data, you can still reload at authorized payment locations throughout Texas. Familiarize yourself with the nearest location before you need it. Having a backup payment method takes ten seconds of preparation and removes a real stress point during an outage.
The CenterPoint Surcharge: What You Should Know
If you are a CenterPoint Energy customer in the Houston area, you may have noticed a small increase on your bill that was not there last year. CenterPoint received approval for a storm-recovery surcharge of approximately $2 per month to cover infrastructure repair costs from the May 2024 derecho, Hurricane Beryl, and the January 2025 winter storm. This surcharge applies to all customers in the CenterPoint territory regardless of which retail electricity provider you use, and it will be collected over the next 15 years.
This is a delivery-side charge, meaning it shows up as part of your transmission and delivery fees—not your energy rate. There is nothing your retail provider can do to waive or absorb it. What you can control is the energy side of your bill, which is where choosing the right plan makes a real difference.
Why Storm Season Is a Good Time to Review Your Plan
Storm season is unpredictable, which is why having a plan with no contract and no cancellation fee matters. Now Power’s Free Nights plan gives you free energy from 9 p.m. to 5:59 a.m. every night (transmission and delivery charges still apply), requires no deposit, no credit check, and lets you leave whenever you want. If a storm damages your home and you need to relocate temporarily, you are not stuck paying for a plan you cannot use.
The combination of daily balance visibility, no-contract flexibility, and overnight free energy hours gives prepaid customers a unique set of tools for managing the financial side of storm season. The physical preparation—flashlights, batteries, water, a weather radio—is up to you. The electricity preparation is simpler than you think.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Does my prepaid electricity balance drain during a power outage?
No. When the power is out, you are not consuming electricity, so your prepaid balance is not being charged. However, when power is restored, the initial surge from your AC, refrigerator, and water heater restarting can consume more energy than a typical day.
2. Who do I call to report a power outage in Texas?
Report outages to your local Transmission and Distribution Utility (TDU), not your retail electricity provider. Key numbers: CenterPoint Energy at 800-332-7143, Oncor at 888-313-4747, AEP Texas at 866-223-8508, and TNMP at 888-866-7456.
3.When is tornado season in Texas?
Tornado activity in Texas typically peaks between April and June. According to the National Weather Service, tornadoes have been recorded on 18 of the 31 days in April in Southeast Texas alone. The risk extends into early summer before tapering off.
4. How much balance should I keep on my prepaid account during storm season?
A buffer of $20 to $40 above your normal weekly usage is a reasonable storm-season cushion. This accounts for the energy surge when power is restored after an outage and gives you margin if you cannot reload immediately.
5. Are CenterPoint customers paying extra because of Hurricane Beryl?
Yes. CenterPoint received approval for a storm-recovery surcharge that adds approximately $2 per month to residential bills. This covers infrastructure repair costs from the 2024 derecho, Hurricane Beryl, and the January 2025 winter storm, collected over 15 years.