Cotulla, Texas electricity: AEP Texas Central wires and 1,828 competitive homes
Cotulla, pop. 3,583, buys power over AEP Texas Central's lines; 1,828 homes here are on the competitive market.
Reviewed by Brent Ward, founder, on 2026-10-19. Updated .
Cotulla at a glance: 1,828 Cotulla-addressed homes, all wired by AEP Texas Central (ERCOT, Oct. 5, 2026). Cotulla's 1,828 placed homes sit in unsplit ZIP codes; a lookup still confirms each address.
Cotulla wires and choice
AEP Texas Central outages: aeptexas.com/outages. AEP Texas Central
Cotulla's 1,828 placed homes sit in unsplit ZIP codes; a lookup still confirms each address.
Non-choice utilities listed by EIA (2024) for La Salle: 2.
Moving to Cotulla
Local numbers for setting up a home in Cotulla, each checked on the official source. More contacts, and a printable list, are on Cotulla helpful move-in information.
- Water and utility billing: utility billing (start, transfer or stop water service), 830-879-2367.
- Public schools: Cotulla ISD.
- Driver license: Texas DPS Driver License Office: Pearsall, 512-424-2600.
You enter your address on the next screen, and we confirm there whether you can choose an electricity provider at that address.
Have a High Light Bill or Electric Bill?
If your electricity bill in Cotulla came in higher than you expected, upload or enter it and see whether another plan could lower your electricity costs, or whether staying where you are makes more sense.
Weather and electricity in Cotulla
Typical weather near Cotulla, from the nearest NOAA station with a complete 1991-2020 record: Cotulla La Salle County Airport, about 2 miles from the city center (station elevation 476 ft). These are normals for that station, not readings at your address. August is the warmest month on average, with a normal daily high of 100°F; January has the coolest average low, 44°F. Average daily highs reach 90°F or more in May to September. No month averages a daily low at or below freezing.
For electricity, the normals point to two seasons that can lift a household's usage: cooling-degree days (a measure of how far each day's mean temperature sits above 65°F) peak in August at 702 for the month, and heating-degree days (below 65°F) peak in January at 312. How much that matters to a bill depends on the home, its insulation, its heating fuel and the household, so use your own usage history, not a regional average, when you compare plans.
| Month | Avg high °F | Avg low °F | Precipitation (in) | Cooling degree-days | Heating degree-days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 67 | 44 | 0.9 | 23 | 312 |
| Feb | 74 | 48 | 1.3 | 61 | 174 |
| Mar | 80 | 55 | 1.6 | 146 | 77 |
| Apr | 86 | 61 | 1.3 | 267 | 17 |
| May | 93 | 69 | 3.0 | 487 | 1 |
| Jun | 98 | 74 | 2.2 | 622 | 0 |
| Jul | 99 | 75 | 2.3 | 681 | 0 |
| Aug | 100 | 75 | 1.7 | 702 | 0 |
| Sep | 94 | 71 | 3.0 | 521 | 0 |
| Oct | 87 | 63 | 2.4 | 317 | 16 |
| Nov | 76 | 52 | 1.2 | 97 | 125 |
| Dec | 69 | 45 | 1.0 | 28 | 282 |
Historical weather records for La Salle County
The Texas Railroad Commission's county table lists a record low of -12°F (1949) and a record high of 116°F (1893), and a regional estimate of 12 consecutive hours as a typical longest freezing or frozen-precipitation period for La Salle County. These are historical county extremes, not Cotulla's monthly averages and not a forecast; the normals above describe ordinary months.
Reference only: the U.S. Energy Information Administration's 2020 Residential Energy Consumption Survey puts the average Texas household at about 13,440 kWh a year (about 1,120 kWh a month if spread evenly). That is a statewide average for 2020, not Cotulla, and not an estimate for your home. EIA source.
Sources: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020, station USW00012947; Texas Railroad Commission, Historical Weather Data by County (2022).
Cotulla electricity, in numbers and sources
- Land: 2.0 sq mi; 1,783 residents and 489 households per sq mi; 3.64 people per Cotulla household. [Gazetteer; PEP; ACS]
- Heating fuel, Cotulla homes (ACS 2020-2024): electricity 79.0% (±5), utility gas 19.5%, propane 1.4%; La Salle County overall: 78.9% electric. All-electric homes feel winter rates more. [ACS]
- Of Cotulla homes paying a power bill, 47.2% report $250 or more a month and 14.0% under $100 (La Salle County: 43.8% at $250+); 86.8% of homes pay one at all. [ACS]
- Housing stock: 62.6% detached houses, 6.7% in 5+ unit buildings, 25.7% mobile homes; median year built 1982, 12.6% built 2010 or later. [ACS]
- ERCOT status split for 3,149 Cotulla home meters (Oct. 5, 2026): active 1,828, inactive 961, de-energized 360; idle share 41.9%. [ERCOT]
- ACS 2020-2024: 26.5% of Cotulla housing units vacant (±9). Vacant homes keep meters that are not counted as households. [ACS]
- 1,828 home meters use the Cotulla postal name, against 983 households inside city limits (1.86 per household): the mailing area runs well past the boundary. [ERCOT; ACS]
- 78014 carries every one of Cotulla's placed homes; ratio across the whole ZIP 1.58, from 1,839 home meters in all and 1,167 households. [ERCOT; ACS]
Cotulla homes: heating fuel, bills, housing
| Cotulla | Estimate |
|---|---|
| Heat with electricity | 79.0% |
| Heat with utility gas | 19.5% |
| Bill $250 or more | 47.2% |
| Built 2010 or later | 12.6% |
| Renter households | 28.5% |
| Median year built | 1982 |
ACS 2020-2024, the city (Census boundary). Bill rows are shares of homes that pay an electric bill.
Cotulla meters and households
| Count | Cotulla |
|---|---|
| Residents, July 2025 | 3,583 |
| Residents, 2020 base | 3,726 |
| Households (ACS) | 983 |
| Active home meters | 1,828 |
| Inactive home meters | 961 |
| De-energized home meters | 360 |
| Active small-business meters | 602 |
| Active large-business meters | 1 |
| Home meters per household | 1.86 |
| ZIP codes listed | 1 |
| Split ZIP codes | 0 |
| County | La Salle |
ERCOT report 203, Oct. 5, 2026 (Cotulla postal city) and Census. CSV · Method
Cotulla plan prices, October 19, 2026
Median fixed-rate Power to Choose listings. AEP Texas Central (164 listings): 12.7¢ / 12.1¢ / 12¢ per kWh at 500 / 1,000 / 2,000 kWh, delivery 5.6898¢ + $3.24/mo included. Not a quote.
Cotulla ZIP codes, row by row
Not every address in these ZIP codes has retail choice; check your exact address.
| ZIP code | Cotulla homes | All ZIP homes | Cotulla share | ZIP households | Share of Cotulla land | Meters per household | Flags |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 78014 | 1,828 | 1,839 | 99% | 1,167 | 100% | 1.58 | none |
Cotulla split ZIP codes: none.
Towns around Cotulla
| From Cotulla | Town (2,000+) | Homes vs Cotulla | Wires | Per household | Competitive homes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 mi | Dilley | 0.7× | AEP Texas Central | 1.14 | 1,245 |
Cotulla businesses
603 Cotulla-addressed business meters; 1 large-class meters across its main ZIP codes (ERCOT). Request a business rate review.
Compare Cotulla plans
Cotulla questions
Can Cotulla homes choose an electric provider?
Yes, on AEP Texas Central's wires: 1,828 Cotulla homes were on the competitive market Oct. 5, 2026 (1.86 per household). Confirm your address.
Why are some Cotulla electric bills so high in winter?
79.0% of Cotulla homes heat with electricity (ACS 2020-2024, margin ±5) and 19.5% with utility gas; 47.2% of bill-paying homes report $250 or more a month. Electric-heat homes should compare plans at winter usage.
Which ZIP code covers most of Cotulla?
78014 (1,828 Cotulla homes on the competitive market). Across the full ZIP: 1.58 meters per household, 1,839 home meters in all.
Who do I call when the power is out in Cotulla?
Outages go to AEP Texas Central (aeptexas.com/outages), the wires utility for 1,828 Cotulla competitive homes.
Moving to Cotulla: how do I start electricity?
Check the address is on AEP Texas Central's wires, choose a plan and a start date. Cotulla had 1,321 idle home meters (inactive or de-energized) on Oct. 5, 2026, so many move-ins reconnect an existing meter.
Near Cotulla
Wires and county: AEP Texas Central · La Salle. Nearby pages: Carrizo Springs (38 mi) · Crystal City (40 mi) · Devine (53 mi) · Dilley (16 mi) · Jourdanton (54 mi) · Pearsall (33 mi)
No-choice areas · Methodology · Compare plans
Sources
- ERCOT TDSP ESIID Extract (report 203): full extract as of Oct 5, 2026; daily files Oct 7-18, 2026
- Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates, tables B25040, B25132, B25024, B25034, B25035, B25018, B19013, B25003, B25002, B25004 (90% margins of error)
- Census Vintage 2025 city and town population estimates
- Census 2020 ZCTA-to-place and ZCTA-to-county relationship files
- EIA-861 (2024) utility service territories by county
- PUCT Power to Choose residential offer export, Oct 19, 2026, 7:59 AM CT
- PUCT: Choosing an Electric Plan
- PUCT broker directory (BR260201)
- AEP Texas (Central Division)
- AEP Texas Central delivery tariff (effective September 29, 2026)
- Census Bureau 2025 Gazetteer Files, Texas places (land and water area)
BJW Ventures LLC d/b/a Power Hopper | PUCT BR260201. PUCT registration is not an endorsement.