Texas electricity is a choice — except where it isn’t.
If your home can shop, you pick the company that bills you while the local delivery utility keeps the wires and meter. If it cannot, one utility handles both.
Answer first: About 7.5 million Texas homes can choose their electricity provider. ERCOT’s data as of Oct 5, 2026 lists 7,483,813 active residential meters in retail-choice areas. Homes served by city-owned utilities such as Austin Energy and CPS Energy, by most electric cooperatives, or by utilities outside ERCOT’s market such as El Paso Electric generally cannot choose.
Who can shop: active residential meters by delivery utility
| Delivery utility (wires company) | Active residential meters |
|---|---|
| Oncor | 3,564,530 |
| CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric | 2,585,110 |
| AEP Texas Central | 810,296 |
| TNMP (Texas-New Mexico Power) | 242,585 |
| AEP Texas North | 163,108 |
| Lubbock Power & Light | 95,371 |
| Nueces Electric Cooperative | 22,813 |
| Total | 7,483,813 |
Source: ERCOT TDSP ESIID Extract (report 203), monthly files posted Oct 6, 2026, data as of Oct 5, 2026. Counted: ESI IDs with status Active and premise type Residential. A meter count is not a household count.
Where homes usually cannot shop
- City-owned utilities: Austin Energy, CPS Energy (San Antonio), Georgetown, New Braunfels and other municipal systems.
- Most electric cooperatives, unless the co-op chose to open its area (Nueces Electric Cooperative did).
- Outside ERCOT’s competitive market: El Paso Electric, Entergy Texas (including The Woodlands area), SWEPCO in Northeast Texas and Southwestern Public Service in the Panhandle and South Plains.
Big metro areas can be split. Houston, Dallas–Fort Worth, Corpus Christi, the Rio Grande Valley, Lubbock, Midland–Odessa and Abilene are mostly choice areas. Parts of the Austin suburbs served by Oncor can shop, while Austin Energy’s area cannot. If a ZIP code is split, we ask for the street address instead of guessing.
What you are choosing
In a choice area, retail electric providers compete on price per kWh, contract length, fees and renewable content. The delivery utility’s charges still appear on every bill. They are regulated by the PUCT and are the same whichever provider you pick, so they are not a surprise fee from your provider. See the latest median prices in each delivery utility’s area.
Electricity by city
- Dallas–Fort Worth (Oncor): Dallas · Carrollton · Grand Prairie · Mesquite & Sunnyvale · Mid-Cities · Fort Worth
- Houston area (CenterPoint): Houston · Katy
- West Texas & South Plains (AEP Texas North, Oncor, Lubbock Power & Light): West Texas · Lubbock
- Central Texas (Oncor): Killeen–Temple · Round Rock, Pflugerville & Hutto
- South Texas: Coastal Bend & Rio Grande Valley (AEP Texas Central): Corpus Christi · Rio Grande Valley
- North Central Texas (Oncor, some TNMP): Cross Timbers & North Central Texas
Larger Texas cities
Each town page names the delivery utility for that city, lists the ZIP codes where choice is split, and links to plan comparison for that area.
- Dallas–Fort Worth area: Arlington · Plano · Irving · Frisco · McKinney
- Houston area: Pasadena · Pearland · Sugar Land · League City
- Central Texas: Round Rock · Killeen · Waco · Temple
- West Texas and East Texas: Midland · Odessa · Abilene · Tyler
How to check your address
Enter a ZIP code above for a quick answer, or use the ESI ID lookup with your street address to see the exact meter and delivery utility. Ready to look at plans? Compare plans by ZIP code.
Moving to a new address? Get the steps for starting service at a new home.
Latest Texas rate medians · Moving · Should I switch? · High bill
Updated Oct 18, 2026 by Power Hopper (BJW Ventures LLC d/b/a Power Hopper), a Texas electricity broker registered with the PUCT, BR260201.
Sources: ERCOT TDSP ESIID Extract (report 203) · PUCT: Choosing an electric plan · Power to Choose (PUCT’s official plan list).
Common questions
Can every Texas home choose an electricity provider?
No. Homes served by Oncor, CenterPoint, AEP Texas, TNMP, Lubbock Power & Light and a few cooperatives that opted in can choose. City-owned utilities such as Austin Energy and CPS Energy, most electric cooperatives, and utilities outside the ERCOT market such as El Paso Electric, Entergy Texas, SWEPCO and SPS generally do not offer choice to homes.
How many Texas homes can choose their electricity provider?
ERCOT’s TDSP ESIID Extract, data as of Oct 5, 2026, lists 7,483,813 active residential meters (ESI IDs) in areas with retail choice.
Is a ZIP code enough to know whether I can choose?
Usually, but not always. Some ZIP codes are split between a utility with choice and one without. The service address or the meter’s ESI ID settles it.
If I can choose, who do I call when the power goes out?
Your delivery utility (for example Oncor or CenterPoint), not your retail provider. The delivery utility owns the wires and restores outages no matter which provider bills you.