Everything You Need to Know About Shopping for Electricity in Texas (From Electric Providers to Plans and Rates)

Shopping for electricity in Texas? You’ve probably jumped around to a lot of electricity shopping sites and are now more confused than ever.

If you want to understand how to shop for electricity in Texas, or need more information on switching electricity providers you’ve come to the right place.

Here’s the definitive guide to shopping for electricity in Texas, to answer all your questions in one place. When you use this guide, you’ll find what you need to know about how to shop for an electricity plan.

Just use the table of contents to jump to what you are looking for. Then search for electricity by zip code to shop Texas electricity plans near you.

Table of Contents

• Basics of Texas Electricity Deregulation
• Using a Power to Choose Alternative
• Why Shop for Electricity Plans in Texas?
• How to Shop for an Electricity Plan in Texas
• 4 Things to Consider When Switching Electricity in Texas
• How to Find the Best Electricity Plan in Texas
• Moving to Texas – How to Set Up Electricity in Your New Home.
• Electricity Shopping Concierge – Shop for Me
• Frequently Asked Questions About Switching Electricity in Texas
• Phone Numbers for Texas Utilities

Basics of Texas Electricity Deregulation

Texas has been deregulated since 2002. That means you can shop for your electricity supplier in most of Texas including Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Waco and more. Check our full list deregulated cities in Texas to see if you have the power to choose your provider.

The local transmission and distribution utility company (TDU) still manages the poles and wires, reads your meter and responds in case of an electrical outage.

Texas also has its own power grid, which covers most of the state except for select eastern and western areas and the panhandle.

These factors have resulted in a free market where most consumers have the power to choose. In other states, residents sign up for a plan through the utility provider, which sets and likely will increase its rates with time. In Texas, residents select from a broad pool of retail electricity providers (REPs), each of which has an array of plans spanning fixed to variable rates, free electricity at certain times, 100% renewable energy and even prepaid electricity.

You can choose from over 40+ retail electricity suppliers (REP) in the state, offering a variety of plans. With electricity deregulation, you can choose from fixed rate plans, free electricity at certain times, 100% renewable energy, and even prepaid electricity.

It’s all managed by the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT)

The PUCT is responsible for:

1. Licensing Retail Electricity Providers (REPs) and Aggregators,
2. Monitoring competitive activity in the state to ensure a level playing field,
3. Approving delivery rates for the regulated transmission and distribution service providers (TDSPs), also knows as the local poles and wires company,
4. Regulating ERCOT (Independent System Operator – ISO) with oversight from the Texas legislature, and
5. Monitoring and responding to consumer complaints.

Using a Power to Choose Alternative

The PUCT also manages the state-sponsored shopping site, PowerToChoose.org.

This site was intended as an unbiased shopping environment where all retailers could display their offers. However, retailers quickly started gaming ths site.

REPs bombarded the site with multiple offers. Plus they used tiered rates, bill credits and minimum use fees to make their electricity plan look like the cheapest plan based on 1000 kWh/month level. (That’s the default display on Power to Choose.)

The result? You would select a plan that you thought was a good deal, only to find hidden fees that you weren’t aware of. Power to Choose became known as the Power to Confuse.

Learn more about Power to Choose and why ElectricityPlans.com is the best power to choose alternative.

Why Shop for Electricity Plans in Texas?

Now, despite all that we’ve said about tricks and games, there are many reasons why you should shop for a Texas electricity plan.

Here are some of the reasons why people shop for an electric energy plan in Texas:

1. Save Money. For most Texas electricity customers, this is the number one reason to shop for electricity. A couple of cents per kilowatt-hour may not seem like much, but when you consider how many kilowatt-hours you use monthly, those pennies add up on your electric bill. Over a year, it can amount to hundreds of dollars in savings.
2. Fixed Rate Plans. The second most common reason for electricity shopping is to lock in a fixed rate. If your contract expires without renewing or shopping for electricity, you will go on a variable rate. That means your rate changes every month, and you pay whatever your electricity company wants to charge you.
3. Green Energy. A third reason for electricity shopping is to support renewable energy, like wind and solar. If you want to reduce your carbon footprint, you can choose green energy.
4. Special Electricity Offers. And the last reason to shop for electricity? It’s the variety of offers you can take advantage of. There are plans like free nights electricity or free weekends electricity, where you can save money by picking a plan that matches your electricity usage. Or pick a plan that supports charity.

How to Shop for an Electricity Plan in Texas

ElectricityPlans.com makes it easy to find the best electricity plan for your Texas home. Shopping online lets you compare the many electricity plans available near you. Just shop by zip code and usage. Once you’ve picked a plan, you can pick your start date and start saving.

Here’s the step by step on how to shop for an electricity plan in Texas.

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4 Things to Consider When Switching Electricity in Texas

Here are a few other things to keep in mind when you are shopping for electricity.

1) Contract Length – Short Term or Long Term

You can choose from plans that are locked in for 1-3 years, plans that are renewed each month, or somewhere in between.

Also consider the time of year you are shopping. The best time to shop for an electricity plan in Texas is the spring or fall. Rates are lowest during this time period. Keep that in mind when you pick a short or long term contract.

For more details see: Is a short or long term electricity contract a better deal?

2) Types of Electricity Plan

What type of plan do you want?  There are two main plan types: fixed rate and variable rate.

• Fixed-rate plans have the rate per kilowatt-hour locked in for the length of the contract. Want more predictability for your monthly budget? We consider basic, true fixed-rate plans the best option for most consumers.
• Variable-rate contracts have a rate that will vary based on electricity costs and the discretion of your electricity provider. Variable rates are typically associated with month-to-month contracts. Some months, you save, and others, you pay a little more.

Other choices based on lifestyle and goals include:

• No-deposit plans: Need electricity with no deposit and no credit check? Pay up front to start service, then pay as you go.
• Renewable energy plans: Texas’s renewable energy market continues to surge forward. Renewable energy plans let you tap into the growth of solar and wind sources or offer credits you can apply to future bills through buyback plans.
• Time-of-use plans: Off-peak hours mean lower rates — and an opportunity to wash dishes, vacuum or run the washer. You’ll see these electricity plans advertised as free nights or free weekends.

For more details see Understanding Electricity Plan Types: Fixed, Variable, and Indexed.

3) Your Credit Score & Electricity Shopping

Your credit score will impact your ability to enroll with the electricity provider of your choice.

In general, most retail electricity providers want a minimum credit score of 600. Customers who have a credit score below that may be assessed a deposit. This deposit will be two months worth of  your estimated electricity bill.

Some consumers prefer the simplicity of prepaid electricity. Prepaid plans are plans where you pay for your electricity before you use it. There’s no deposit and no credit check.

For more information, see our page on No Deposit Electricity.

4) Renewable Electricity Options

Although price is a huge motivating factor with electricity plans, you should also remember to check the green or renewable energy plans. Some 100% renewable energy plans are very affordable and will only cost you a small premium compared to traditional energy plans. 

How to Find the Best Electricity Plan in Texas

Hate to break it to you. There is no one best electricity rate in Texas. Everyone’s usage is different, and everyone’s needs are different. The best electricity plan depends on what you want.

But here’s how we help you find the best electricity plan:

1. Popular electricity plans are listed on our home page at ElectricityPlans.com.
2. Recommended plans are always highlighted as featured plans at the top of the list. These are plans that offer a solid value or a low electricity rate for most people
3. Cheapest plans first. All other plans are sorted in order of lowest average price first. No games here. And we will highlight if there’s a bill credit or tiered rate to remind you to read the fine print.
4. Exclude tricky plans. Bill credit and tiered rate plans are good for some people, but they’r only good for you if you fall within the right usage level. To make it simple, you can shop what we call Basic Fixed Rate electricity plans.
5. Plan details revealed. You can review all the Plan Details. That’s where we deconstruct the Electricity Facts Label.
6. Quick summary. You can see a quick summary of the plan in our Plan Description one-liner.
7. Compare plans. Select three plans, then click Compare. You’ll get a side-by-side view of the plans to easily compare their rates and features.
8. Shop electricity by usage. You can shop based on your electricity usage, instead of 500, 1000 or 2000 kWh.

Moving to Texas – How to Set Up Electricity in Your New Home.

Texas is the fastest-growing state in the country, according to the US Census. And the Texas electricity market is very different from other states, where there is just a single utility for each market area.

Don’t worry, we make it easy to set up electricity in your new home.

Talk to the prior homeowner (or the apartment complex manager) to understand the electricity usage in your new home. (If you’re leasing, don’t worry about matching your contract term to your lease. Moving out is an automatic waiver of your early termination fee.)

There are two types of electricity set ups. One is switching electricity. The other is moving in electricity. You are a move-in.

Once you have selected a plan and start enrolling, you will be asked whether you are switching or moving. Typically you will have three options:

• Move-in.  Yup, that’s the one to pick. You are moving in to a new home and setting up service in your name. You will be able to pick a date up to 60 days in the future to schedule your move-in.
• Standard Switch. With a standard switch, you are switching your service to a new provider, at a home where you already reside. A standard switch happens immediately, within 1-2 days.
• Self-Selected Switch. With a self-selected switch, you are switching service in your current home. However, you are selecting a specific date, up to 60 days in the future.

Here’s more info on moving to Texas.

Electricity Shopping Concierge – Shop for Me

If you are confused by electricity shopping, you aren’t alone.  After all, it’s why we started this shopping site for electricity. We figured if an IT guy and a CPA were confused by shopping for electricity, there must be other people who were confused.

We provide a lot of tools to help you shop for electricity.  But if you want us to help you shop for electricity, we can do that to.

There are paid electricity shopping subscription services out there like Energy Ogre (where you pay $120 a year for someone to shop electricity for you.. yikes!)

Or Power Wizard (which is owned by the parent company of two retail electricity companies… surprise!).

We prefer to think of ourselves as the Good Energy Fairy. We will shop for you as part of our free electricity shopping service, PlanScan.

Just send us a copy of your most recent bill and let us know your contact information.

We’ll evaluate your usage and send you back up to three offers that we recommend based on your usage. This includes a review of electricity plans that we don’t post on our site! It’s personal shopping for your electricity.

Frequently Asked Questions About Switching Electricity in Texas

We’ve answered some of the most commonly asked questions about switching electricity providers in TX below:

Phone Numbers for Texas Utilities

If your lights are out because you received a disconnection notice from your electricity provider, call them immediately to make a payment arrangement and get your lights back on.

But, if your lights are out because of a storm or other reason, you will want to contact your local utility company.

You can find your local utility’s phone number on your bill, or check the list below:

• AEP Texas Central (Corpus Christi, Brownsville, South Texas)  1-866-223-8508
• AEP Texas North (West Texas) 1-866-223-8508
• Centerpoint Energy (Houston area) 1-800-332-7143
• Oncor (DFW and scattered Central Texas) 1-888-313-4747
• Texas New Mexico Power (Friendswood and scattered Central/North Texas) 1-888-866-7456