Power to Choose Texas Electricity

What is Power to Choose?

Power to Choose is the official electricity shopping site for Texas, operated by the Public Utility Commission of Texas.

If you live in a deregulated area of Texas, including Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Katy and hundreds of other cities, you have the right to choose your electricity provider. Power to Choose is the state’s tool for helping you do that.

The site is free and includes plans from every licensed retail electricity provider. But it’s not designed for simplicity and can be confusing to use.

How Power to Choose Works And Where It Falls Short

Shopping on Power to Choose starts with your ZIP code. You’ll see available plans in your area, with rates shown at three standard usage levels: 500, 1000, and 2000 kWh per month.

The problem? The average Texas home uses around 1300 kWh per month. Many plans are deliberately priced to look cheap at 1,000 kWh, and could cost more if you don’t use exactly that amount.

Texas electricity providers can include bill credits in their plans. A plan advertising 7¢/kWh at 1,000 kWh might cost 11¢/kWh or more if you actually use 900 kWh. Power to Choose shows you the advertised rate, but it doesn’t show you what your bill will be. You could also have a base charge or minimum usage fee from the REP that isn’t highlighted on the Power to Choose site.

What Power to Choose shows:

• Advertised rate per kWh at 500, 1000, and 2000 kWh
• Contract length and early termination fee
• Plan type (fixed, variable, prepaid, time-of-use, renewable)
• Links to each plan’s Electricity Facts Label (EFL)

What Power to Choose doesn’t show:

• Estimated monthly bill based on your actual usage
• Which plans use bill credits or tiered rates to show a cheap advertised rate
• Which plans have a base charge or minimum use fee that impacts your monthly bill
• Any insight into the pro or con of each plan based on your home and preferences

Power to Choose Alternative: What to Look For

A better shopping experience needs to address the gaps that Power to Choose leaves open. Here’s what to look for:

Rates based on your usage, not just 500/1000/2000. The single most important improvement over Power to Choose is shopping based on your usage. A plan comparison tool that lets you enter your average monthly usage and calculates your estimated bill is a key feature to look for. And if a comparison site lets you enter usage but still shows you rates at 1000 kWh? Click away.

Estimated bills, not just rates. The price per kWh only tells part of the story. Base charges, bill credits, and tiered pricing all affect your actual monthly cost. Any tool worth using should show projected bill totals, not just cents per kWh.

Plain-language plan summaries. Electricity Facts Labels were designed to help you compare, but are full of legalese and math formulas. Good comparison tools translate them into clear summaries that flag the things most likely to affect your bill.

Transparency about how plans are ranked. You should know whether the plans at the top of your results are there because they’re the best deal for your usage — or because a provider paid to be featured.

Tools that reveal what you really pay. You don’t use the same amount of power every month. Shopping just based on an average can lead you to a bad financial decision. Your comparison tool should show what you pay at every level of usage, so you can confirm it’s the right plan for you.

Why Shoppers Use ElectricityPlans.com

Electricity plans launched in 2017 as an independent alternative to Power to Choose. We’re a licensed Texas electricity broker. We’re paid by providers when you enroll, but the rates you pay are either the same or less than what you’ll find on their web sites. We feature plans and providers that meet our editorial standards, developed based on 30+ combined years of experience in the Texas electricity business. Providers can’t pay to be featured on our website, keeping our recommendations independent.

Rates based on your usage. Enter usage from a single bill using BillSmart™ Low Bill Finder. We’ll estimate your other months based on a typical Texas usage profile. Then we’ll show rates based on your usage, instead of just the price at 500, 1000 or 2000 kWh

Estimated bills. We show projected monthly bills, with all charges and credits factored in. Use the CostCurve™ or BillSmart Calculator to see what you pay at every usage level, not just your average.

Fine print flagged. We read every Electricity Facts Label to decipher the details. Each listing includes a plain-language summary of what to watch for, who this plan is best for, and a full breakdown of the rate structure.

Side-by-side comparison. Compare Plans tool let’s you see the details of up to three plans that you’re considering, side-by-side. Not ready to enroll? Get a results link emailed to you.

Curated provider list. We work with a select group of providers, and review every plan before listing it. Not every Texas provider earns a spot on our site.

Once you’ve selected your plan, you can enroll online or over the phone in minutes.

Avoid the “.org” trick: Some comparison shopping sites have “.org” web sites to make consumers think they’re the official state shopping site. The official shopping site is PowertoChoose.org. Any other .org site for electricity shopping is just trying to confuse you.

Types of Electricity Plans

Within the Power to Choose site, there are two basic types of electricity plans available.

• Fixed rate plans have a set energy rate per kWh that lasts the entire contract term.
• Variable rate plans have an energy rate per kWh that can vary from month to month.

Within fixed rate plans, there are several common structures:

Plan Type	How it Works	Best for
Basic Fixed Rate	Energy price per kWh remains the same for the contract term.	Most households. Fixed rates give predictable bills and are easy to compare.
Bill Credit Plans	Bill credit applied when you hit a specific usage level.	Households that use a consistent level of power each month.
Free Nights & Weekends	Energy (and sometimes delivery) is free at certain times.	Households that can shift power to specific times, or EV owners.
Tiered Rate Plans	Different rates depending on how much you use.	Households that use a consistent level of power each month.
Prepaid / No Deposit	Pay upfront and add money to your account as you use power.	Customers with a credit score below 600.
Renewable Energy	100% green energy for your power	Households that want to support renewable energy.

Recommendation: For most Texas households, a basic fixed rate plan is the best option for your home, and the least likely to produce a billing surprise. Look for plans with a BillSmart Plan Score of 5 or 4 out of 5.

Power to Choose for Business Electricity

Businesses in Texas have the power to choose their electricity provider but there is no Power to Choose website for Texas business owners. Business rates are more complex than residential electricity rates. They often come with pages of fine print, can vary based on load factor or meter type, and can have different rate structures.

You can shop commercial electricity rates online with ElectricityPlans. We work with providers to display business electricity rates in Texas in a head-to-head comparison. And you can shop for your power contract up to 6 months in advance.

Have a more energy intensive business? If you spend over $2500 per month on power, you qualify for custom commercial rates.

FAQs About Texas Power to Choose