The short version. Power to Choose, the state's official shopping site, ranks plans by their price at 1,000 kWh of monthly use. In Houston's Nov 6 data, the eight lowest prices all belong to plans with a usage condition, such as a bill credit that only applies at 1,000 kWh or more. Use less or more and the "cheapest" plan can cost far more than a plainer one. Meanwhile, most of the 143 licensed Texas electricity providers don't list plans on the site at all. Why not?
The Nov 6 Houston file: the lowest prices come with a catch
The Nov 6 Power to Choose file for ZIP 77036 in southwest Houston holds 146 fixed-rate plans from 40 company names, and none is flagged for a minimum usage fee or credit. The site's own data for the same ZIP and day lists 159 plans. The 13 extra carry the state's "minimum usage fees/credits" flag, and they hold ranks 1 through 8.
- Rank 1, AP Gas & Electric Simple Saver 3: $62 at 1,000 kWh. Its listing says "$125 bill credit when usage is at least 1000 kWh for the next 3 months." The lowest-priced plain plan is $103, so #1 looks about 40% cheaper.
- At 500 kWh the same plan costs $96, against $51.50 for the lowest-priced plain plan. That is $44.50 more.
- At 2,000 kWh it costs $244, against $196. That is $48 more.
- Ranks 2 to 8 show a similar price pattern and the same flag. Only AP Gas & Electric's listing spells out its rule, so check each fact sheet.
Without the flagged plans, the top 10 in the file are all 3-month plans at 10.3¢ to 10.5¢. The lowest plain prices at longer lengths are 11.7¢ (12 months), 12.5¢ (24) and 12.8¢ (36). The file shows prices while a plan runs, not what a 3-month plan costs when it ends, so read the Electricity Facts Label (EFL).
To its credit, the site has a guard. On Nov 5, ZIP 75201 (Dallas) showed 145 plans under the default filter, "Plans without a minimum usage fee/credit and plans without tiered pricing," and 157 under "Show All Plans," with the flagged plan at #1. The risk is for shoppers who click "Show All Plans," and for anyone who ranks the raw data elsewhere.
How can the "cheapest" plan cost more?
Each plan's EFL gives its average price per kWh at 500, 1,000 and 2,000 kWh. Power to Choose sorts by the 1,000 kWh price, and a credit that applies at 1,000 kWh or more is built into it. Miss the threshold by one kWh and the credit disappears.
Dallas and North Texas (Oncor) show the shape. By our estimate, the same Simple Saver 3 costs about $187 at 999 kWh and beats a plain plan only from about 1,000 to 1,420 kWh a month.
Such plans can suit a home that uses a steady 1,000 to 1,400 kWh every month. Few stay that flat all year. Test your own usage in our 12-month plan replay.
Is it just Houston and Dallas?
No. In the Nov 5 export, 61 of 769 comparable fixed-rate listings (about 8%) have a minimum-usage fee or credit, yet they fill 34 of the 60 lowest-price slots across the six main delivery areas. In every area, the three lowest prices belong to AP Gas & Electric and Chariot Energy.
These plans are disclosed on their EFLs and tagged by the state. We are not saying any company broke a rule or meant to win a ranking. The data shows what the ranking rewards.
So why isn't everyone on Power to Choose?
As of Nov 5, the PUCT's provider directory listed 143 active licenses. The site's export held plans from only 36 to 38 of them, under 44 brand names. One license can carry several brands: Cirro Energy and Discount Power share license 10177.
- 52 licenses cannot sell to homes. 16 TAC §25.107 limits 50 "Option II" licenses to customers that each contract for one megawatt or more, and 2 "Option III" licenses to customers with on-site generation.
- Listing is a choice. §25.475(c)(2)(B) refers to a provider posting offers "if the REP chooses to post offers to the website."
- Even so, 53 to 55 of the 91 home-eligible licenses were not on the site.
The record does not say why. Questions worth asking: Why do more than half of home-eligible providers stay off? Does ranking by one price at 1,000 kWh suit some plan designs better? How do unlisted providers reach customers, and at what prices? Should the state publish who declines to list? We did not contact any provider or the PUCT, and some of the 91 may sell mostly to businesses.
What to check before you sign
- Flip the usage setting. On Power to Choose, change "Estimated Use" to 500 and 2,000 kWh and see if the top plan holds up.
- Find the "Minimum Usage Fees / Credits" tag and read the credit rule on the EFL. See how bill credits work.
- Ask what happens when a short plan ends, and check the cancellation fee. See should I switch? and fixed versus variable rates.
- Use your last 12 months of bills, not one month.
- Check the license and complaints. See how PUCT complaints work.
To compare electricity rates in Texas for your ZIP code, use Compare Plans, browse Texas electricity providers or see Texas electricity rates. Our comparison does not cover every licensed provider either; see our methodology.
For the data-minded: how we did it
- Nov 6 Houston file. A Power to Choose spreadsheet for ZIP 77036: 146 plans, 40 company names, none flagged. Power to Choose's published plan data for the same ZIP, pulled Nov 6, lists 159 plans from 41 names, 13 flagged; the 146 in the file match its 146 unflagged plans by company and plan name. Ranks use the 1,000 kWh price; bill = EFL average price x usage. The lowest plain plans are Octopus Octo Simple 3 (500 kWh), Frontier Power Saver 3 (1,000 kWh, tied with several) and SmartGreen 3 (2,000 kWh).
- Nov 5 export. 1,813 plans from 44 names. We kept English-language, fixed-rate listings that are not prepaid or time-of-use (769) and counted a plan as flagged if its minimum-usage flag is true (61).
- Oncor estimates. The 999 kWh and 1,420 kWh figures assume a flat energy rate plus a small base charge and a $125 credit at 1,000 kWh or more, fitted to the 500 and 1,000 kWh prices; the fit reproduces the 2,000 kWh price within $1.
- Licenses. PUCT directories, Nov 5: 143 active (Option I 91, II 50, III 2). 42 of the 44 names match exactly one license, together reaching 36. "Energy Texas" matches two and "NEC Co-op Energy" none, so the range is 36 to 38.
- Limits. Two days of data and two live ZIP checks (75201, 77036). Plans change daily.
Sources
- Power to Choose: ZIP 77036 plan file and plan data (Nov 6, 2026); offers export and ZIP 75201 results (Nov 5, 2026).
- PUCT, Alphabetical and Numeric REP directories, Nov 5, 2026.
- 16 TAC §25.107, Certification of Retail Electric Providers.
- 16 TAC §25.475, Information Disclosures to Residential and Small Commercial Customers.
Power Hopper is not affiliated with or endorsed by the PUCT or Power to Choose, or by any company named above. This brief was prepared with AI assistance. Reviewed by Brent Ward on November 6, 2026.
Power Hopper (BJW Ventures LLC d/b/a Power Hopper) is a PUCT-registered electricity broker, BR260201; registration is not a PUCT endorsement. Electricity providers may pay us a commission if you sign up through us. Power Hopper is an electricity broker (not an electric utility or wires company).