Texas runs hot. Your electric rate shouldn't.
Most Texas businesses can choose their retail electric provider — and with summer peaks setting transmission costs for the whole year, the right contract strategy matters more here than almost anywhere. We handle it.
Rates checked October 2026
Texas's commercial average: 8.64¢/kWh
Among the lowest commercial averages in the country — but Texas also has the widest spread between the cheapest and priciest plans, so the average hides more here than anywhere. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration commercial retail data, via Integrity Energy.
Massachusetts businesses pay 25.64¢/kWh on average — nearly 3x Texas. Cheap on average doesn't mean cheap for you.
Averages are context, not your price. Your bill depends on your TDU, your plan's fine print, and your summer peak behavior — more on that below.
How energy choice works in Texas
Since 2002, most of Texas has run on retail electric choice under ERCOT — the grid operator for most of the state.
Your TDSP delivers
Oncor, CenterPoint, AEP Texas, or TNMP owns the wires, reads the meter, and restores outages. You don't choose them — but they're not who sets your rate.
You choose your provider
Dozens of retail electric providers compete for your supply business. The spread between the cheapest and priciest offer for the same usage can be enormous.
We cut through the noise
Texas plans are famous for fine print — bill credits, tiered rates, usage thresholds. We compare true all-in costs on your actual load profile, not the advertised teaser.
Your TDU, your watch-list
In Texas you don't choose your delivery utility — but knowing which one you're in tells you where the savings actually come from:
Oncor
Dallas–Fort Worth
The state's largest TDU. Delivery charges are fixed by tariff — every dollar of savings comes from your supply rate and managing the 4CP summer peaks.
CenterPoint Energy
Houston
Same story as Oncor: delivery is set, so the fight is entirely on the retail plan you pick — and how you handle August afternoons.
AEP Texas
South & west Texas
Check your bill's TDSP name — if you're in AEP territory, you're in choice territory, and the plan fine print matters more than the headline rate.
Texas-New Mexico Power
TNMP territories
Smaller footprint, same choice rules. Teaser-rate tripwires show up here too — always compare plans on your actual usage, never the advertised average.
Your exact number depends on your TDU, your plan, and your usage — upload your bill and we'll tell you your true all-in rate and what you should be paying, in one business day.
Why the official average lies (a little)
That 8.64¢ is real EIA data — but Texas is where averages lie the most. It blends Dallas offices with West Texas operations, straightforward fixed-rate plans with tiered teaser plans that only hit their advertised rate at exactly 1,000 kWh. Two businesses with identical usage can pay wildly different rates on the same TDU.
Treat it as the weather report for Texas: useful context, not your price. Your price comes down to three things — which retail plan you're on, whether you're tripping its fine-print thresholds, and how you behave during the four summer peak hours.
What drives YOUR bill in Texas
The 4CP summer peaks
ERCOT sets transmission charges from your usage during the four summer coincident peaks (June–September). Curtailing or shifting load on the hottest afternoons is the single biggest lever most Texas businesses have.
Teaser rates with tripwires
Many Texas plans advertise a low average rate that only applies at exactly 1,000 or 2,000 kWh. Use a little more or less and the real rate jumps. Always compare on your actual usage — that's what our bill review does.
Summer scarcity pricing
Texas has no capacity market — generators are paid only for energy produced. When August heat strains supply, wholesale prices can spike violently. A fixed-rate contract keeps those spikes off your bill.
Contract end dates in summer
If your contract expires June–September, you're shopping at the worst possible moment. We time renewals so you're never forced to sign during peak season.
Two topics worth their own guides: demand charges, explained — and what happens when your contract expires.
Know your number, not the average.
Upload your bill and we'll tell you your true all-in rate, when your contract ends, and what you should be paying — free, back to you in one business day.
Upload My BillTexas FAQs
What is the average commercial electricity rate in Texas?
About 8.64¢/kWh statewide, per EIA commercial retail data (checked October 2026) — among the lowest in the country. But Texas also has the widest spread between the cheapest and priciest plans, so the average says little about any single bill.
Why is my commercial rate higher than the Texas average?
Usually one of three things: a teaser plan whose usage tripwires you missed, a contract that rolled to a holdover rate, or 4CP transmission charges from unmanaged summer peaks. Upload your bill and we'll find which one.
Which utility delivers my power in Texas?
Your TDSP — the name is printed on your bill. In most deregulated areas it's Oncor, CenterPoint Energy, AEP Texas, or Texas-New Mexico Power (TNMP). You can't choose your TDSP, but you can choose the retail electric provider that sets your supply rate.
Is my Texas business in a deregulated area?
Most of Texas is — including Houston, Dallas–Fort Worth, and surrounding areas served by TDSPs like CenterPoint and Oncor. But municipal utilities (like Austin Energy or CPS Energy in San Antonio) and electric cooperatives are generally not open to retail choice. Your bill's TDSP name tells you where you stand.
What are 4CP charges?
In ERCOT, transmission costs are allocated based on your usage during the four summer system peaks (June–September), called the Four Coincident Peaks. If your business runs hard through a 4CP hour, you pay for it all year. Managing those afternoons is one of the highest-ROI moves a Texas business can make.
Why do Texas summer rates spike?
Texas runs an energy-only market — there's no PJM-style capacity market paying generators to be available. When summer heat pushes demand near supply limits, wholesale prices can spike hard and fast. Fixed-rate contracts shield you from that.
What's a TDSP?
A Transmission and Distribution Service Provider — the utility that owns the poles and wires (Oncor, CenterPoint, AEP Texas, TNMP). You can't choose your TDSP, but you can choose your retail electric provider, which sets your supply rate.
Shopping providers in Texas alone is a full-time job.
Send us your bill and we'll cut through the teaser rates, find your true all-in cost, and line up fixed-rate options — free, no obligation.
Get My Free Bill Review