Houston, TX Electricity

The E-ncyclopedia

There is no topic that is as boring and confusing as Texas electricity.

Your friends are paying half of what you pay on the monthly electricity bill. Your neighbor next door pays 30% less than you on annual electricity cost. You suspect you are paying more than market average rate, but you cannot find an average rate anywhere.

Then you google Houston, TX Electricity, and are confused by the contradictory information from government agencies, retail energy providers, brokers or amateur writers.

Let us explain to you everything you need to know about electricity in Texas.

LowerEBill Finds the Best Plan for You

Do you want to spend hours of your valuable time comparing plans and calculating savings?

Our AI Technology can personalize your choice based on the historical usage data. With LowerEBill, you can find the best electricity plan in Houston within minutes!

Electricity Rates Houston:

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“How can I find the best electricity rates in Houston?”
It’s time to understand electricity rates in Texas and define ‘best’ based on your family’s unique needs.

1). Electricity rates is just a fraction of your monthly bill

Your monthly electricity bill comprises some if not all of the items below:
Base charge
TDU Delivery charge
Electricity charge
Other non-reoccurring fees

The base charge could range from $5-$10 a month, and the TUD delivery charge could be upto 30% or 40% of your monthly electricity bill. Other non-reoccurring fees such as setup fee, customer service fee, insufficient fund fee, can also add up.

2). Electricity rates can be variable, fixed, or indexed

The lowest rate today, does not guarantee the lowest rate tomorrow.

Variable rates and indexed rates fluctuate with the energy wholesale market, which in general is not something recommended for average people like you and me. Unlike commercial or industrial buyers, retail consumers do not have the knowledge and time to monitor and manage their electricity plans on a daily basis. But electricity prices do change every second in the wholesale market. The lowest variable rate available today could become the highest rate tomorrow if something drastic happens such as the snow storm that hit Texas back in 2021. Always stick to the fixed rate plans if possible.

3). Automatic Plan Change 

Certain electricity plans will switch you to variable rates if you do not renew or change the provider upon contract expiration. You may not notice the change if the rates only go up a cent or two until something happens and the rates suddenly spike. Do not leave your electricity plan unattended and search for new providers proactively when it is close to the expiration day.

4). Free Electricity Plans 

You may have heard about the ‘free’ electricity plans in Houston. That might include free nights, free weekends, free hours during certain months. Will you really save money by using those plans? Not possible unless you stop using electricity during the weekdays or the working hours or the hottest days in summer. Because these free plans charge way more in normal hours than other plans.

Discover the best electricity rates.

LowerEBill finds you the best electricity plan and ensures you won’t overpay for electricity again.

 

What’s the Best Electricity Rate in Houston?


The best rate for everyone? I bet what you need is the best plan for your home and your usage.

Why is there no such thing as a universal cheapest rate for everyone? The answer is that electricity rates, even fixed, are not always one rate for all. There are certain plans with tiered rates, which work similarly to tax tables. It could be the best plan for your neighbor who uses 2500 kWh per month, but it might not be the best plan for you if your house is smaller and electricity usage is lower. There are plans which charge lower rates for below 2000kWh usage in the market, and that should be your focus.

So, finding the best plan for yourself matters. Your historical usage data and daily usage pattern will guide us through the pile of plans to identify the perfect one specifically for you.

How can you find the best electricity plan for you and your family?

There are three options:

  • DIY

Do your own research via retail energy providers’ website. This can be time consuming and frustrating. Downloading and reading through hundreds of Facts Labels is just the beginning. You then need actuary level math skills to compare the cost and analyze the risks.

  • Government website or other energy brokers’ website

Bottom line is most of them are free. So you might want to try your luck out there. Pay your attention to how they pull their recommendations for you. If they don’t have your historical usage data, how accurate can they be in pulling something truly personalized and suitable for you?

  • You can use LowerEBill’s patented AI technology that’ll do all the work for you.

You enter your home’s address and it’s done. LowerEBill will pull your historical usage data from the TDU and compare cost across all available plans to find the best electricity plan in Houston for you.

 

Retail Energy Providers (REPs) in Houston

There are many retail energy providers that supply electricity to the Houston area.

Is there any difference in selecting one REP versus the other besides the different plans and rates they offer?

The answer is yes.

Even though any REPs in Texas can serve the residents in Houston due to the deregulated market, each REP offers different terms, service quality, and user experience to its customers.

Other than the rate, you should also be looking at the fine prints in their service agreement, their online ratings, and the easiness to enroll.

Do you search for the plan first or the retail energy provider first?

If you want to search manually by yourself, you probably will search for the REP first by going to each of their websites and pull plans to do a comparison. Sometimes you need to call their customer service 800 number to enroll.

Or you can use LowerEBill’s patented AI technology that’ll do all the work for you. You enter your home’s address and it’s done. LowerEBill will help you pick the best plan and REP in Houston that suits your needs within minutes!


Average Electric Bill in Houston

How much on average are the families paying for electricity in Houston?

We probably can get that data point for you, but it is irrelevant because every home is different. Your actual electricity cost for each month depends on your home’s size, appliances you use, cars you own, and many other factors.

Comparing your monthly electricity bill with your friends or neighbors can yield little help in figuring out why your home costs you more to live in.

What more important is to find which plan fits your usage pattern better, and saves you money in the long run.

The charts below show a few examples of the trending electricity rates by contract length, TDU and 500/1000/2000 kWh breakdown. As mentioned, asking for a universal average rate is fruitless and understanding the complexity of the choices will lead you to the right direction in finding your best plan in Houston.


Houston Neighborhoods

 

 

Houston Zip Codes

 

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