using an electricity bill calculator to choose texas home electricity plan

Electricity Bill Calculator – How to Get the Best Electricity Rate

  • Written By: Shannon Bedrich
  • Edited By: Rebecca Bridges

  • With the Electricity Bill Calculator you can easily see how much you’ll pay for your Texas electricity based on your usage. Enter your monthly kWh usage and we’ll calculate an estimated bill and price per kilowatt hour for every electricity rate on our site. That’s how to find the best electricity plan for your home.

    How to Calculate Your Electric Bill

    Calculating your electric bill is fairly easy:

    Total Usage * Price per Kilowatt Hour = Total Electric Bill

    This will give you a rough estimate of your electric bill. Taxes and fees may be additional.

    To estimate your monthly bill, you could look at each appliance in your home, calculate the kilowatt hours (kWh) used and multiply that out. You’ll find complete instructions on how to calculate kWh for appliances in our blog article on that topic.

    But the biggest part of your electricity bill is your heating and cooling. And not knowing how many hours your HVAC runs to heat or cool your home makes this a tough calculation.

    The easiest way to estimate your electricity bill with your new electricity rate is to use our electricity bill calculator. Just enter the monthly usage from your past bills to see how much your electricity bill will be.

    We’ll calculate the average price and monthly bill for each plan.

    Shop for Best Electricity Plan Using Electricity Bill Calculator

    First, enter your zip code.

    Then look for the Advanced Search tool in the left margin. (If you’re viewing the site on a mobile device, Advanced Search appears at the top of your screen.) To use the Electricity Bill Calculator, just enter your monthly kWh usage off of a recent electric bill.

    electricity calculator enter usage get price

    The Electricity Bill Calculator automatically calculates your average price per kWh and estimated bill for all available plans.

    All of the electricity plans will automatically re-sort to show the cheapest electricity plan for your home.

    electricity calculator shows average rate and estimated bill based on usage
    Automatically shows the price per kWh and estimated bill based on your usage.

    Enter Your Zip to Shop Based on Your Electricity Usage

    How to Use the Electricity Bill Calculator

    Here are some more ways to use the Electricity Bill Calculator to find the best electricity plan for your home.

    1. Compare Plans Feature. Enter your average usage, then narrow down the options by selecting the “Compare Plans” button on your 3-4 top plans. Use the your kWh usage input to calculate as many months of estimated bills as you wish!
    2. Triangulate on the Best. Sounds fancy but its easy. First enter your lowest usage, and write down the three cheapest plans. Next, enter your highest usage, and write down the three cheapest plans. Finally, enter your average usage and write down the three cheapest plans. Then pick the plan that gives you the best rate at all three usage levels.
    3. Shop Bill Credit/Tiered Rates. See if your usage is a good fit for special bill credit/tiered rate offers. Enter your usage, then select “Bill Credit/Tiered Rates” under Plan Features. Bill Credit/Tiered Rate plans target customers in a specific kWh usage range. If you are in that range, you’ll get a great rate. Be sure to also consider Basic Electricity plans — sometimes simple is best.
    4. Shop Free Electricity. Want Free Electricity? See what your average rate will be. Enter your usage, then select “Free Electricity at Certain Times” under Plan Features.
    advanced math calculation at the chalk board, electricity plan calculator
    We did all the math behind the scenes.
    Just use the Electricity Bill Calculator to do all the work for you.

    Benefits of Using the Electricity Bill Calculator

    With the Electricity Bill Calculator for your Texas home:

    • Calculate your estimated Texas electric bill before you sign-up.
    • Easily find the best electricity plan for your kWh usage.
    • You won’t have an electricity bill surprise, after you thought you got a great rate. Full transparency!
    • And, you can relax, knowing what your estimated monthly bill will be.

    Let us do the math for you!

    Why Is Texas Electricity Shopping So Hard?

    Here’s why it’s so hard to shop for an electricity plan in Texas, and how our Electricity Bill Calculator makes shopping a breeze.

    There are three reasons why finding the best electricity plan for your home is so difficult.

    1. Texas electricity prices are always shown at 500, 1000, or 2000 kWh. And that’s not exactly what you use at your house.

    The three pricing levels based on usage are required by the Public Utility Commission of Texas. This disclosure lets you make an apples-to-apples comparison of rates, including energy, delivery, any bill credits, and monthly base charges or minimum use fees. But very few consumers actually use exactly 500, 1000 or 2000 kWh per month. The average electricity bill in Texas is for 1200 kWh a month. But every home is different. You may use more or less.

    2. Texas electricity suppliers game the system.

    You’ll often find a rate that looks fantastic at 1000 kWh. But what if you use more or less than that? Your electricity rate could be significantly higher. Plus there are tiered rates, freebies, bill credits and flat bill plans. Make no mistake… the electricity suppliers are hoping you sign up for these fantastic looking plans without reading the details.

    3. Math is hard.

    Ok, maybe it’s not for you engineers or accountants. But for the rest of us, math isn’t easy. You can think of each plan as a math equation, and who has the time to calculate hundreds of math equations to find the best plan? No thanks!

    Because of these three things, consumers risk falling victim to the tricks, gimmicks and gotchas of certain electricity rate plans. We don’t want that to happen to you.

    That’s why we created the Electricity Bill Calculator for homes in Texas. We do the math for you, and make it easy to find the best electricity plan for your home.

    About Shannon Bedrich

    Shannon Bedrich, co-founded ElectricityPlans in 2016 after shopping for electricity rates using a confusing state-sponsored website. A CPA and our CFO, Shannon is the one that deciphers the fine print on each electricity plan. Outside of work, Shannon enjoys spending time with family, rooting for the Aggies, and exploring all that Houston has to offer.

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