How to Read Your Texas Electric Bill, Line by Line
A Texas electric bill is two businesses stapled together: the company you chose (your retail provider, who sells you energy) and the company you didn't (your delivery utility, who owns the wires). Once you see that split, every line makes sense. Here's the tour, top to bottom, plus the one number worth computing yourself.
The usage block: your kWh
Somewhere near the top: meter readings and total kWh used this cycle. This is the most important number on the bill — it drives everything below, and comparing it month-over-month (and to the same month last year) is diagnostic step one for any bill surprise. Note the cycle dates too: a "month" can be 27 days or 33, which alone moves a bill 20%.
The provider's lines (the part you shopped for)
- Energy charge: your plan's rate × your kWh. The core of the bill.
- Base charge: a flat monthly fee, if your plan has one — same whether you use 1 kWh or 3,000.
- Bill credits: negative lines from usage-threshold promotions. If a credit appeared last month and not this one, you've met the bill-credit trap.
- Minimum usage fee: some plans add a fee in months you used less than a stated amount.
The delivery lines (the part nobody shops for)
Labeled something like "TDU Delivery Charges" — this is Oncor, CenterPoint, AEP, TNMP, or LP&L getting paid for poles, wires, and meters. It's typically a fixed monthly piece plus a per-kWh piece, the rates are set by regulators, and they're identical on every plan in your area — switching providers never changes them. Some plans fold these into their advertised rate, others list them separately, which is why two bills can look structured completely differently for the same total. On a typical bill, delivery is a third or more of the money.
Taxes and small print
Sales tax where applicable (city rates vary; unincorporated areas often see none), sometimes a gross-receipts reimbursement or PUC assessment measured in cents. If you're comparing bills with a friend across a city line, taxes explain small gaps.
The one number worth computing: your real average price
Divide the total bill by total kWh. That's your true all-in price per kWh — the number that eats every fee, credit, and delivery charge, and the only fair way to compare what you're paying against the market. A typical well-chosen Texas plan lands around 11–13¢ all-in at 1,000 kWh right now; if your division says 18¢, your plan — not your thermostat — is the problem. (Small-usage months run higher legitimately, because fixed charges spread across fewer kWh; compare against the market numbers at your usage level, not against a friend's mansion.)
The two fields that save you money
- Contract end date. Required on the bill. If it's within 60 days, your shopping window is open; if it's in the past, you're on a holdover rate and overpaying right now — the ten-minute switch is overdue.
- Plan name + rate type. Confirm the bill says the plan you think you signed, and whether it's fixed or variable. "Variable" on a bill you thought was fixed is exactly how contract expirations hide — the plan name usually changes to something generic like "Standard Service" when the holdover begins.
Keep it in a drawer
One recent bill answers every question this site asks of you: your kWh (for the usage slider), your all-in average price (to judge your current plan), and your contract end date (to time the switch). Three numbers, ten minutes a year, and you're permanently on the right side of the $20–$40/month spread between shoppers and coasters.