# Bellmead, Texas electricity: Oncor wires and 3,746 competitive homes

_Updated October 19, 2026. Data: ERCOT Oct 5, 2026; Power to Choose Oct 19, 2026, 7:59 AM CT._

**In short:** ERCOT counts 3,746 active residential meters with a Bellmead address, all on Oncor's wires (October 5, 2026). Nearly every Bellmead address in our data is on Oncor's wires and can pick a retail provider.

## Moving to Bellmead

Local numbers for setting up a home in Bellmead, each checked on the official source. More contacts: https://powerhopper.energy/texas-electricity/bellmead/move-in-information

- **City hall (ask about water service):** City of Bellmead: City Hall (main line), 254-799-2436.
- **Natural gas:** Atmos Energy: customer service, 888-286-6700.
- **Public schools:** La Vega ISD, Connally ISD.
- **Driver license:** Texas DPS Driver License Office: Waco, 512-424-2600.

## Who delivers electricity in Bellmead?
ERCOT counts 3,746 active residential meters with a Bellmead address, all on Oncor's wires (October 5, 2026).

## Can every address in Bellmead choose?
No split flag on any ZIP code that holds Bellmead's 3,741 competitive homes; most streets here can shop.

## What is different about Bellmead?
- Bellmead counted about 10,592 residents in the Census Bureau's 2025 estimate, against 10,497 in the 2020 base, a change of +0.9%. The largest one-year change was +64 people, from July 2021 to July 2022. July 1 estimates in between: 10,494 (2021), 10,558 (2022), 10,568 (2023), 10,556 (2024). (Source: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/cities/totals/sub-est2025_48.csv)
- Bellmead covers 6.9 square miles of land (Census 2025 Gazetteer). That works out to about 1,534 residents and 515 occupied households per square mile of land, with roughly 3.0 residents for every Bellmead household. (Source: https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/cities/totals/sub-est2025_48.csv, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/)
- Oncor share: 0.1% of its 3,564,530 competitive residential meters carry a Bellmead address. (Source: https://www.ercot.com/misapp/GetReports.do?reportTypeId=203)
- Move-ins show up as vacant-to-active switches in ERCOT's daily files: 33 of them in the ZIP codes most Bellmead homes use, Oct. 7-18, 2026. (Source: https://www.ercot.com/misapp/GetReports.do?reportTypeId=203)
- On October 5, 2026, ERCOT showed 1,474 home meters switched off (de-energized) in the ZIP codes most Bellmead homes use, against 11,065 switched on; that 11.8 percent is mostly vacant houses and apartments between occupants. (Source: https://www.ercot.com/misapp/GetReports.do?reportTypeId=203)
- One ZIP code, 76705, holds almost every Bellmead-addressed competitive home (3,741); it also carries 3,993 Waco addresses and 3,193 Lacy Lakeview addresses. Taken whole, 76705 has 1.04 competitive meters per Census household: 11,065 meters, 10,625 households. (Source: https://www.ercot.com/misapp/GetReports.do?reportTypeId=203, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/)
- Bellmead is 5 of 19 on a McLennan County list of cities and towns ranked by postal-city competitive homes; the next one up is Woodway, at 3,999. (Source: https://www.ercot.com/misapp/GetReports.do?reportTypeId=203)
- By the Census Bureau's 2025 estimates, Bellmead is the number 4 city or town by population among the 21 that reach into McLennan County, one place ahead of Woodway (9,753 residents). (Source: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/cities/totals/sub-est2025_48.csv)
- Mailing cities on the 11,065 competitive home meters in 76705, Bellmead's main ZIP code: Waco 3,993, Bellmead 3,741, Lacy Lakeview 3,193, West 83. A mailing city is not a city limit, so the service address, not the postal name, settles which utility serves a home. (Source: https://www.ercot.com/misapp/GetReports.do?reportTypeId=203)
- Renting is most common in 76705, where the ACS 2020-2024 counts 37.2 percent of households as renters; in that part of Bellmead, electricity accounts change hands with each lease. (Source: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/)
- Electric bills over $250 a month: 36.0 percent of households in 76705, Bellmead's main ZIP code, per the ACS 2020-2024; the same survey puts median household income there at $58,236. (Source: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/)
- Waco, 7 miles from Bellmead, has the most competitive homes nearby (60,431); Woodway has the fewest per household, still 1.08. (Source: https://www.ercot.com/misapp/GetReports.do?reportTypeId=203, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/)

## By the numbers
- Population (July 1, 2025 estimate): 10,592
- Population (2020 estimates base): 10,497
- Occupied households (ACS 2020-2024): 3,553
- Active residential meters with a Bellmead address: 3,746
- Active business meters with a Bellmead address: 719
- Residential meters per Census household: 1.05
- Delivery utilities (homes): Oncor 3,746
- Counties: McLennan
- ZIP codes touching Bellmead: 1
- Split ZIP codes (flagged below): 0

## Plan prices (median ¢/kWh at 500 / 1,000 / 2,000 kWh)
- Oncor: 14.1 / 13.4 / 13.2; delivery 6.8673¢/kWh + $4.06/mo

## ZIP codes
**Not every address in these ZIP codes has retail choice; check your exact address.**

| ZIP | Postal cities | Land in city | Competitive homes | Households | Ratio | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 76705 | Waco 36%, Bellmead 34%, Lacy Lakeview 29% | 6% | 11,065 | 10,625 | 1.04 | Near-full coverage. Mostly outside Bellmead city limits. |

## Business electricity in Bellmead
719 active business meters. Power Hopper compares offers from retail electric providers and direct suppliers; for high-consumption businesses we can run a competitive bid. No savings or bidder count is promised. Businesses in Texas retail-choice areas can request a rate review online.

## Questions
**Can Bellmead residents pick their own electric company?** Yes, where Oncor's wires reach the house, which in Bellmead is most of the city: 3,746 homes with a Bellmead mailing address were on the competitive market on October 5, 2026, 1.05 for each Census household. No Bellmead ZIP code carries a split flag, but only an address lookup is certain.
**Which Bellmead ZIP code has the most homes on the competitive market?** That is 76705, home to 3,741 of the competitive meters with a Bellmead address. ZIP-wide: 11,065 ERCOT meters, about 10,625 Census households, 1.04 per household.
**How much is electricity in Bellmead right now?** On October 19, 2026, the median fixed-rate Power to Choose listing on Oncor's wires was 13.4¢ per kWh at 1,000 kWh a month (170 listings); Oncor's delivery charge of 6.8673¢ per kWh plus $4.06 a month is included. A median is not a quote.
**I'm moving to Bellmead. How do I set up electricity?** Start with the address check: Oncor-delivered Bellmead homes choose among the plans offered there and set a start date. Turnover is real in 76705, where 17.0% moved in the past year (ACS); ERCOT logged 33 vacant-to-active meters in 76705 Oct. 7-18, 2026.
**Why does my Bellmead home have a Waco address?** 76705 covers part of Bellmead, but the Postal Service names most of it Waco: that postal city is on 36 percent of the ZIP's 11,065 competitive home meters, Bellmead on 34 percent. Your mailing city is not your city limits; the service address decides the utility.
**Who do I call in Bellmead when the power goes out?** Call Oncor (oncor.com/outages), the wires utility for Bellmead's 3,746 competitive homes; a retail provider can't fix lines.

## Sources
- ERCOT TDSP ESIID Extract (report 203): full extract as of Oct 5, 2026; daily files Oct 7-18, 2026: https://www.ercot.com/misapp/GetReports.do?reportTypeId=203
- Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates (B25003 households, B01003 population): https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/
- Census Vintage 2025 city and town population estimates: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/cities/totals/sub-est2025_48.csv
- Census 2020 ZCTA-to-place and ZCTA-to-county relationship files: https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/rel2020/zcta520/
- EIA-861 (2024) utility service territories by county: https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/eia861/
- PUCT Power to Choose residential offer export, Oct 19, 2026, 7:59 AM CT: https://www.powertochoose.org/en-us/Plan/ExportToCsv
- PUCT: Choosing an Electric Plan: https://www.puc.texas.gov/consumer-help/electricity/electric-plan/
- PUCT broker directory (BR260201): https://www.puc.texas.gov/industry/electric/directories/brk/alpha_brk/
- Oncor Electric Delivery: https://www.oncor.com/
- Oncor delivery tariff (effective October 4, 2026): https://interchange.puc.texas.gov/Documents/59249_105_1676040.PDF
- Census Bureau Vintage 2025 city and town population estimates: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/cities/totals/sub-est2025_48.csv
- Census Bureau 2025 Gazetteer Files, Texas places (land and water area): https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html
- Census Bureau Vintage 2025 city and town population estimates: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/cities/totals/sub-est2025_48.csv
- Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/
- ERCOT TDSP ESIID Extract (report 203), Oct 5, 2026: https://www.ercot.com/misapp/GetReports.do?reportTypeId=203
- ERCOT daily TDSP ESIID Extract files, Oct 7-18, 2026, via Power Hopper's Oct 18 ZIP study: https://www.ercot.com/misapp/GetReports.do?reportTypeId=203
- ERCOT TDSP ESIID Extract (report 203), Oct 5, 2026: https://www.ercot.com/misapp/GetReports.do?reportTypeId=203
- ERCOT TDSP ESIID Extract (report 203), Oct 5, 2026: https://www.ercot.com/misapp/GetReports.do?reportTypeId=203
- Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/
- ERCOT TDSP ESIID Extract (report 203), Oct 5, 2026: https://www.ercot.com/misapp/GetReports.do?reportTypeId=203
- Census Bureau Vintage 2025 city and town population estimates: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/cities/totals/sub-est2025_48.csv
- ERCOT TDSP ESIID Extract (report 203), Oct 5, 2026: https://www.ercot.com/misapp/GetReports.do?reportTypeId=203
- Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/
- Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/
- ERCOT TDSP ESIID Extract (report 203), Oct 5, 2026: https://www.ercot.com/misapp/GetReports.do?reportTypeId=203
- Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/

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