A Texas household can line up three retailers, choose a 12-month fixed-rate plan from each and still miss the most important difference in the deal. Which plan is cheapest depends on how much power the home uses, which part of the state it sits in, and whether the customer will do the paperwork for a $200 credit.
Take SmartEnergy, APG&E and GoodCharlie. Each sells a 12-month fixed plan, and each filed a standardized price disclosure, the Electricity Facts Label, for the delivery areas of CenterPoint, Oncor and AEP Texas Central. We read all nine.
One market, three scoreboards
Texans can shop for a retailer, but not for the utility that owns the poles and wires. Geography decides that, and the utility's charges are passed through on every bill. So the same three companies face a different contest in each part of the state.
At 1,000 kilowatt-hours a month, a typical home, APG&E's printed average price is the lowest in CenterPoint territory, at 13.3 cents per kWh, and in Oncor's, at 13.5 cents. In AEP Texas Central territory it ties SmartEnergy at 12.3 cents, with GoodCharlie a tenth of a cent behind.
The winner changes with the size of the bill
Look down the table and the leader switches. At 500 kWh, APG&E is cheapest in all three areas. At 2,000 kWh, SmartEnergy is cheapest in CenterPoint and AEP Texas Central and ties APG&E in Oncor. GoodCharlie is never the lowest.
The reason is the monthly fee. SmartEnergy and GoodCharlie each add a $4.95 retailer base charge; APG&E adds none. A flat fee stings most when you use little, because it is spread across fewer kilowatt-hours. APG&E's per-kWh energy rate is a touch higher, so as usage climbs the gap closes and then reverses. By our calculation from the label charges, SmartEnergy overtakes APG&E at about 1,020 kWh in AEP Texas Central, about 1,790 in CenterPoint and about 2,180 in Oncor.
A small gap is not necessarily a trivial one. Half a cent per kWh comes to $10 on a 2,000 kWh month, or $120 over a year if use and prices hold steady.
The price on the label is a starting point. The question is what twelve actual bills would add up to.
The $200 question
SmartEnergy's labels describe up to $200 in bill credits over the contract. It is not automatic. The first $100 arrives only after the customer contacts the company by phone or email to claim it. The second $100 requires a redemption form after six months. A past-due balance when a credit is claimed, an early cancellation, or a change of plan before a credit is applied can forfeit it.
Count the credits, and the ranking can flip. A CenterPoint home using exactly 1,000 kWh every month would pay about $1,622 a year on SmartEnergy before credits, against $1,596 on APG&E. Claim both credits and SmartEnergy falls to roughly $1,422, about $174 below APG&E. The gap is $168 in Oncor and $199 in AEP Texas Central. Skip the paperwork and APG&E is cheaper, narrowly, in all three areas.
None of this is an endorsement of the rebate. It depends on the customer meeting the conditions and staying long enough to use it. See our guide to how bill credits work.
What a "fixed" plan does not fix
The three companies also handle the monthly charge differently. APG&E lists no retailer base charge; SmartEnergy and GoodCharlie each list $4.95. But no base charge does not mean no monthly charge. The local utility bills its own, from $3.24 in AEP Texas Central to $4.90 in CenterPoint, plus 5.7 to 6.9 cents per kWh.
Leaving early costs different amounts, too. APG&E charges a flat $125. SmartEnergy and GoodCharlie charge $20 for every month left on the contract. With nine months to go that is $180 versus $125; with three months to go it is $60 versus $125.
Nor does "fixed" freeze every line. All three labels allow price changes for delivery-utility charges, ERCOT or regional fees, and new laws or regulations.
Three prices, three different products
The contracts differ in other ways. SmartEnergy discloses 100% renewable content, GoodCharlie 24.7% and APG&E 5.85%. Those are the plans' disclosed percentages, not a measure of which electrons reach a given home. GoodCharlie's labels also require paperless billing.
The better question
No household can pick its utility, and nine labels are not the whole market. The more useful question than "who has the lowest rate?" is what twelve real bills would cost at your home's actual usage, after the charges, credits and obligations are counted. In this sample, that question has more than one answer.
Start by finding your delivery area: CenterPoint, Oncor or AEP Texas Central. Pull your monthly kWh from past bills, and read the full label before you enroll. When you are ready, compare plans for your address.
About this analysis
This is a dated sample of nine labels, not the whole market and not live quotes. Plans compared: SmartEnergy SmartGreen 12, APG&E EnergyBot 12 and GoodCharlie GoodEnergy 12. Annual bills and crossover points are our calculations from the charges printed on the labels, assuming the same use every month and no taxes or one-time charges. The labels and each company's Terms of Service control.
Sources
- SmartEnergy SmartGreen 12 Electricity Facts Labels (CenterPoint, Oncor, AEP Texas Central), Nov 6, 2026
- AP Gas & Electric EnergyBot 12 Electricity Facts Labels (CenterPoint, Oncor, AEP Texas Central), Nov 8, 2026
- GoodCharlie GoodEnergy 12 Electricity Facts Labels (CenterPoint, Oncor, AEP TCC), Nov 4, 2026
Power Hopper is not affiliated with or endorsed by the companies named above. This brief was prepared with AI assistance. Reviewed by Brent Ward on November 8, 2026. Power Hopper is a PUCT-registered Texas electricity broker and earns a commission when a customer enrolls through us. That never decides what we cover or how.
BJW Ventures LLC d/b/a Power Hopper, PUCT Registered Electricity Broker BR260201