Electricity Facts Label (EFL) Archives

What are Market Securitization Charges?

Market securitization charges are a new line item on Texas electricity bills. They’re a direct outcome of Winter Storm Uri, paying for some of the extraordinary costs of that storm.

The Texas legislature passed House Bill (HB) 4492 in 2021 in response to the storm’s financial impact on the ERCOT power region. The legislation allows Texas REPs to add the charge to their bills for the next 30 years

You can’t avoid paying these fees, which are from a regulatory change. But you might as well understand them, since you’ll be paying them for the next 3 decades.

Shopping For Your Best Electricity Deal? Know Your Usage

What’s electricity usage got to do with it?

Being the electricity geeks that we are, we talk way too much with our customers, friends, and family about the price they’re paying for electricity. For whatever reason, people happen to like to swap stories about their electricity provider and rate.

The conversation usually starts with “Hey, guess what? I just got a <insert ridiculously low rate>,” and usually (unfortunately) ends with a gotcha and a comment about teaser rates, fine print, and usage.

How to Sniff Out a Texas Teaser Electric Rate

Texas teaser rates are rates that look great on the surface. But once you dig into the details, you find that your electricity rate isn’t what you expected.

Maybe you’ve seen a teaser rate before. It’s a rate that seems just too good to be true. These teaser electricity rates create confusion for customers looking for the best deal.

It’s one of the reasons we created ElectricityPlans.com. We evaluate electricity plans to find the best ones, so you don’t have to worry about it. But what exactly is a teaser rate, and how do you avoid them?

TL:DR: The best way to avoid a teaser rate is to buy a basic fixed rate electricity plan. You’ll pay the same rate per kWh for your energy, and the average rate per kWh will only vary because of the monthly customer fees.

Why Does Texas Have Three Electricity Rates?

If you are shopping for electricity based on one of the three electricity rates shown on the Electricity Facts Label, stop. You might pick the electricity company advertising the lowest rate based on 500 kWh, 1000 kWh or 2000 kWh. But you could soon discover it’s not as straight forward as you’d hoped. Because unless you read the find print you may choose the wrong plan.

Before you blindly click on the plan with the lowest advertised rate, read this article.

How to Read an Electricity Facts Label (EFL)

Last Updated August 5, 2025

Knowing how to read an Electricity Facts Label (EFL) is the key to finding the right electricity plan for your home. It’s easy get pulled in by the advertised rates, showing low prices at a certain usage level. But the EFL shows you the math behind that attractive rate, showing you exactly what to expect from your electricity plan.

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