AEP North: A Texas Electric Utility with a Focus on Customer Education and Service

  • Written By: Kelly Bedrich

  • The utility company in much of west and central Texas is AEP Texas North. Formed as a result of the acquisition of West Texas Utilities by AEP, AEP Texas North is a subsidiary of AEP Texas and and a sister company to larger AEP Texas Central. This utility serves approximately 200,000 total customers in 153 towns and 48 counties in Texas.

    Areas Served By AEP Texas North

    AEP Texas North electric utility currently serves about 146,000 residential meters and 30,000 commercial meters. This utility’s service region spreads across an area totaling 53,000 square miles. This region serves major cities including Abilene, San Angelo, Alpine, and Vernon.

    Some customers in west or central Texas may think that WTU or West Texas Utilities is still their utility. That’s not the case. WTU Retail Energy is just one of the companies you can choose when you shop for west Texas electricity.

    Shop for a Retail Electricity Provider in AEP Texas North

    AEP Texas North is one of the deregulated electricity markets of Texas. AEP Texas North does not sell electricity. They only deliver it and maintain the poles and wires. When you live in the AEP Texas North territory, you must select a retail electricity provider (REP). WTU Retail Energy, now owned by Direct Energy, was the long-time default supplier in the area. There are over 70 REPs in Texas that you can choose from to provider your electricity.

    That power to choose gives you many options to pick from. It can be confusing to shop for the best electricity rates. ElectricityPlans.com makes it easy to compare electricity plans and find cheap electricity rates. Want recommendations for a great electricity plan? Use our free PlanScan service to get personalized electricity plan picks.

    Top Ten Best West Texas Electric Rates for your Home – AEP Texas North

    Plan Name Term Rate/kWh
    TriEagle Energy Simple Savings 24 24 14.8 ¢
    TriEagle Energy Simple Savings 36 36 14.8 ¢
    TriEagle Energy Simple Savings 12 12 15.2 ¢
    Veteran Energy Select 36 36 15.2 ¢
    Chariot Energy Solarize 36 36 15.6 ¢
    Chariot Energy Solarize 24 24 15.8 ¢
    OhmConnect Energy TexasConnect 24 24 16.0 ¢
    OhmConnect Energy TexasConnect 36 36 16.0 ¢
    OhmConnect Energy TexasConnect 12 12 16.0 ¢
    Chariot Energy Solarize 12 12 16.1 ¢

    These featured electricity plans have straight-forward rates, with no gimmicks. Regardless of your monthly kWh usage levels, you can have confidence that you won’t have any unexpected surprises in your monthly electric bill.

    Shop West Texas Electricity Rates Near You

    AEP North TDU Delivery Charges

    AEP North utility delivery fees are regulated by the Public Utilities Commission of Texas (PUCT). The residential delivery rates are updated on March 1st and September 1st of each year. These rates are comprised of numerous tariffs that are approved by the PUCT. These fees pay for the maintenance of the poles and wires and meters that service your home and any system upgrades or repairs due to storms. The TDU charges are passed through to the customer by the REPs in the monthly electric bill and are the same regardless of who supplies the electricity.

    Current & Historic AEP North TDU Delivery Charges
    Effective DateMonthly Charge$/kWh
    March 1, 2024$4.79$.045254
    September 1, 2023$4.79$.051265
    March 1, 2023$4.79$.039205
    September 1, 2022$5.88$.046985
    March 1, 2022$5.88$.041058
    September 28, 2021 (update Adv. Metering Cost Recovery)$5.88$.041096
    September 1, 2021$4.79$.041426
    June 1, 2021 (update for tax credit expiration)$4.79$.036048
    March 1, 2021$3.57$.030078
    September 1, 2020$3.57$.035325
    March 1, 2020$10.53$.038824
    September 1, 2019$10.53$.040199
    March 1, 2019$10.53$.036596
    September 1, 2018$10.53$.038807
    March 1, 2018$10.53$.038331
    September 1, 2017$10.53$.041177
    March 1, 2017$10.53$.037026

    AEP Texas North Awards and Recognition

    Annually, AEP Texas contributes more than $1 million to organizations within its service areas for the purposes of teaching electrical safety, enhancing the environment, and supporting community economic improvements.

    In addition, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recognized AEP Texas with an ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Award for six consecutive years as of 2016.

    Utility Highlights

    AEP Texas North is more than just a simple electricity utility. As a subsidiary of AEP, their larger financial connections allows AEP Texas North customers to experience excellent customer service teams along with well-developed customer-focused educational materials.

    Customer Service Initiatives:

    • Detailed outage information. AEP Texas North offers outage alerts through an interactive outage map, frequent email updates, and text messages. In addition, AEP Texas provides resources to help you better understand how electricity outages are handled and manage expectations for your power to be restored.
    • An e-module about electricity. AEP Texas offers a web series on how electricity works and how electrical systems function. From “Anatomy of an Electric System” to “Live Wire Dangers,” they want to be certain that their customers understand what they’re dealing with and the potential hazards involved. It’s a really great way to learn anything you’ve ever wanted to know about electric utilities.
    • Safety videos. Not sure how to handle a downed power line or if you should call the utility company before you dig a new garden? Those are just a few of the safety questions that AEP Texas answers in its safety video library. These professionally produced videos are a great way for you to fill in the gaps in your electricity knowledge.
    • Saving electricity. Although you probably already know a few ways to spare your electricity bill some strain, there are lots of other things out there that you’ve probably never heard of. AEP Texas is here to help, though, with a great collection of videos aimed at saving you even more money and reducing your electricity usage.

    AEP Texas is a great utility for Texas electricity customers. When your electric utility is focused on you and wants to ensure you know as much about electricity as possible, there’s not much more you could ask for, is there? AEP Texas North already offers lots of customer service options, it’s also nice that it provides an array of educational opportunities for customers so they can be safe around electricity no matter what happens.

    About Kelly Bedrich

    Kelly Bedrich co-founded ElectricityPlans in 2016 with the goal of simplifying the complicated process of buying energy. As president and chief technology officer, Kelly keeps our development team focused on providing a user-friendly website. When not reading the latest on technology and finance, Kelly enjoys celebrating Taco Tuesday, listening to live music at local venues, and hiking.

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