Power to Choose Texas: How the Official Marketplace Works

1. What Power to Choose is, and what it is not

Power to Choose is run by the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT), the state regulator. It is free to use, and it lists residential plans from providers that serve the ZIP code you enter. It is a comparison site: when you choose a plan, you finish enrolling on the provider's own website.

The PUCT publishes the data behind the site as a public export, and Power Hopper uses it for its dated rate benchmarks. See Texas electricity rates by delivery utility for the latest snapshot and its date.

2. How to read a Power to Choose listing

• The price shown is an average price per kWh. Each plan states an average price at 500, 1,000 and 2,000 kWh of monthly use, taken from its Electricity Facts Label (EFL). Those prices include the delivery utility's regulated charges.
• The EFL is the source of truth. It lists the energy charge, any base charge, bill credits or usage conditions, the contract length and the cancellation fee. Open it before you choose.
• Check the contract length. A plan with a very short term can show a low price now and renew at a different one. Compare the term, not only the price.
• Check for usage conditions. Some plans only reach the advertised price if you use a certain amount of electricity. See bill credits explained.
• Your delivery utility matters. A ZIP code can span more than one delivery utility, so plans are tied to your address. Our ESI ID lookup finds the meter at your address.

3. Why the lowest advertised price may not be the lowest bill

Plans are often sorted by price, so the lowest-priced listings come first. In Power Hopper's dated review of the Houston ZIP 77036 file on November 6, 2026, the lowest-priced listings were all flagged with a minimum-usage condition, and the lowest prices without conditions were higher. That is one ZIP on one day, not a statewide rule. Read the full analysis in our November 2026 Power to Choose article.

Compare plans at the usage you actually have. Your bill shows your monthly kWh, and the bill calculators turn an EFL into a monthly cost at that usage.

4. Power to Choose and Power Hopper

Power Hopper is not affiliated with the PUCT or with Power to Choose. We are a Texas electricity broker registered with the PUCT (BR260201). We help you compare plans available at your service address, start service when you move, and understand a high bill.

How we are paid. Residential customers do not pay Power Hopper a separate fee. If you enroll in a plan through Power Hopper, Power Hopper may receive compensation from the REP, directly or through our enrollment platform or another authorized intermediary, so we provide brokerage services for compensation even though you do not pay us directly. We do not add a fee to the price in the plan's Electricity Facts Label, and our ranking method does not use the amount of commission paid. Our broker disclosures have the full text. Registration is not an endorsement, and the PUCT does not approve our recommendations or any plan. Not every provider is available through Power Hopper, and plan availability depends on your service address. You can always compare on Power to Choose too.

5. A checklist before you choose any plan

1. Confirm your delivery utility from your address.
2. Pick the price at the usage closest to yours (500, 1,000 or 2,000 kWh).
3. Open the EFL and read the conditions, the term and the cancellation fee.
4. Note when the plan ends and what rate applies after it does.
5. Keep a copy of the EFL and the Terms of Service you agreed to.