Electricity in Houston: compare plans for your address
Houston, wondering how to shop electricity, moving to a new place, or have a high electric bill? Compare plans and hop to a better rate.
Last updated . Written by Power Hopper.
In short: CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, the transmission and distribution utility (TDU), owns the wires and delivers electricity to Houston addresses on the competitive market. Where retail choice applies, you pick the retail electricity provider that bills you; some addresses in the wider Houston region are served by electric co-ops or city-owned utilities without choice. ERCOT lists 1,277,704 active residential electric meters (ESI IDs) with a Houston address (October 5, 2026). To compare, enter your ZIP code at powerhopper.energy/compare and confirm with your service address.
Watch: Hopper in Houston
Read the transcript
Video transcript
[0:00] Houston.
[0:00] Wondering how to shop electricity,
[0:02] moving to a new place,
[0:04] or have a high electric bill?
[0:05] Visit powerhopper.energy
[0:07] to compare plans and hop to a better rate.
Who delivers electricity in Houston?
CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric is the delivery utility (TDU) for Houston. It owns the poles, wires and meters and delivers the electricity; the retail provider you choose sends the bill, and CenterPoint’s delivery charges appear on it.
Delivery utility website: CenterPoint Energy
Can I choose my electricity provider in Houston?
For CenterPoint addresses, yes, and in ERCOT’s data every active residential meter with a Houston address is on CenterPoint’s system. Eligibility still follows the exact service address: some apartment buildings are master-metered, so the electricity comes with the lease, and electric co-ops serve some areas at the edges of the Houston region without retail choice.
Contract ending soon? See whether to renew or shop around.
How many homes in Houston are on the competitive market?
ERCOT’s TDSP ESIID Extract (data as of October 5, 2026) lists 1,277,704 active residential ESI IDs with a Houston service address, all on the CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric system. Most are in Harris County (1,261,353), with 16,145 in Fort Bend County. The Houston ZIP codes with the most are 77084 (43,742), 77007 (30,535), 77077 (29,939).
One ESI ID (Electric Service Identifier) per metered home or apartment. City means the postal city on the service address, not city limits; city-owned utility and co-op addresses are not in the extract. Source: ERCOT TDSP ESIID Extract, data as of October 5, 2026.
Want a quick price check? View the latest median CenterPoint plan prices.
What does Hopper say about Houston?
Hopper’s message for Houston: whether you’re figuring out how to shop for electricity, moving to a new place or opening a high electric bill, compare plans and hop to a better rate.
Moving soon? See how to set up electricity before move-in day. Bill jumped this month? Learn the usual reasons a bill spikes.
Moving to Houston
Local numbers for setting up a home in Houston, each checked on the official source. More contacts, and a printable list, are on Houston helpful move-in information.
- Water and utility billing: utility billing (start, transfer or stop water service), 713-371-1400.
- Natural gas: CenterPoint Energy: gas customer service (Houston area), 713-659-2111.
- Public schools: Houston ISD, Aldine ISD, Katy ISD and 1 more on the move-in page.
- Driver license: Texas DPS Driver License Office: Houston Dacoma, 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 Houston 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 Houston
Typical weather near Houston, from the nearest NOAA station with a complete 1991-2020 record: Houston-Port, about 7 miles from the city center (station elevation 19 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 94°F; January has the coolest average low, 44°F. Average daily highs reach 90°F or more in June to August. 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 637 for the month, and heating-degree days (below 65°F) peak in January at 365. 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 | 63 | 44 | 4.0 | 11 | 365 |
| Feb | 67 | 49 | 2.8 | 24 | 226 |
| Mar | 73 | 54 | 3.8 | 69 | 116 |
| Apr | 79 | 61 | 5.2 | 179 | 27 |
| May | 86 | 69 | 5.1 | 379 | 1 |
| Jun | 91 | 75 | 7.9 | 541 | 0 |
| Jul | 93 | 77 | 4.5 | 620 | 0 |
| Aug | 94 | 77 | 3.4 | 637 | 0 |
| Sep | 90 | 72 | 4.5 | 474 | 0 |
| Oct | 82 | 63 | 5.4 | 250 | 24 |
| Nov | 72 | 53 | 3.4 | 72 | 149 |
| Dec | 65 | 46 | 4.3 | 23 | 314 |
Historical weather records for Harris County
The Texas Railroad Commission's county table lists a record low of 5°F (1940) and a record high of 111°F (2000), and a regional estimate of 18 consecutive hours as a typical longest freezing or frozen-precipitation period for Harris County. These are historical county extremes, not Houston'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 Houston, and not an estimate for your home. EIA source.
Sources: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020, station USC00414326; Texas Railroad Commission, Historical Weather Data by County (2022).
A short history of Houston
- Augustus Chapman Allen and John Kirby Allen founded Houston on August 30, 1836. The city was incorporated on June 5, 1837, and became the county seat of what is now Harris County that year.
- The Houston Ship Channel opened in 1914.
- The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center was built in 1961, and by the 1970s Houston was known as a world energy capital.
Summarized in our own words from Handbook of Texas Online: Houston, TX (Texas State Historical Association). It is background about the city, not a statement about electricity prices or service.
What is different about electricity in Houston?
- ERCOT's data has no postal city for Mission Bend (a census-designated place of about 36,586 residents, ACS 2020-2024), mostly in ZIP codes 77083 and 77407; Cloverleaf (a census-designated place of about 24,063 residents, ACS 2020-2024), mostly in ZIP 77015; Aldine (a census-designated place of about 17,167 residents, ACS 2020-2024), mostly in ZIP codes 77039, 77060 and 77037. Those homes use Houston mailing addresses, so residents there can use this page's ZIP table; there is no separate page for them. (ERCOT, Census, Census)
- Hurricane Beryl (July 2024) knocked out power to more than 2.6 million Texas customers; CenterPoint, the wires utility here, said it had restored more than 2 million by July 15, 2024. Restoration is the delivery utility's job, whichever retail provider you choose. (Texas, CenterPoint)
- In ZIP 77081, which holds 13,427 Houston-addressed homes, ERCOT counts only 0.69 competitive meters per Census household. EIA's 2024 data lists San Bernard Electric Cooperative; plus Entergy Texas, outside ERCOT, in the counties ERCOT and the Census link to that ZIP; their customers are not on the competitive market unless the utility opted in. (ERCOT, Census, EIA-861)
- Population: 2,299,649 (2020 base) to 2,397,315 (July 2025), +4.2%, per Census Vintage 2025 estimates. The largest one-year change was +40,382 people, from July 2023 to July 2024. (Census)
- The Houston mailing area is bigger than the city: ERCOT lists 1,277,704 competitive homes under the Houston postal city, 1.37 for each of the city's 930,404 Census households. (ERCOT, Census)
- CenterPoint share: 49.4% of its 2,585,110 competitive residential meters carry a Houston address. (ERCOT)
- ERCOT's daily files for Oct. 7-18, 2026 show 731 brand-new residential meters across Houston's main ZIP codes (405 of them in 77084) and 2,524 meters going from vacant to active. (ERCOT)
- Houston's main ZIP codes: 1,278,056 active and 46,923 de-energized residential meters (3.5% de-energized, usually empty or between tenants). (ERCOT)
- Houston's biggest ZIP code for electricity customers is 77084, with 43,742 of the 1,277,681 competitive homes that carry a Houston address and a ZIP-wide ratio of 1.19 meters per household. (ERCOT, Census)
Homes, renters and electric bills in Houston’s ZIP codes
$250+ monthly electric bills peak in 77095 (31.3% of households); renters in 77036 (82.3%); post-2020 homes in 77007 (8.1%).
| ZIP | Houston homes | Median income | Renters | 5+ units | $250+ bills | Built 2020+ | New meters | Vacant to active |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 77084 | 43,742 | $80,575 | 40.0% | 22.6% | 27.3% | 2.9% | 405 | 234 |
| 77007 | 30,535 | $144,911 | 53.8% | 43.1% | 17.0% | 8.1% | 6 | 35 |
| 77077 | 29,939 | $72,871 | 62.6% | 46.3% | 20.7% | 0.6% | 0 | 22 |
| 77036 | 26,343 | $45,716 | 82.3% | 51.8% | 11.6% | 0.0% | 0 | 109 |
| 77095 | 25,560 | $91,594 | 29.4% | 14.5% | 31.3% | 1.5% | 0 | 6 |
| 77070 | 24,563 | $77,397 | 52.5% | 35.7% | 28.5% | 3.3% | 4 | 7 |
| 77008 | 24,040 | $143,229 | 40.9% | 27.2% | 21.3% | 6.8% | 7 | 18 |
| 77082 | 24,020 | $62,455 | 63.6% | 40.2% | 24.0% | 0.6% | 1 | 52 |
ACS 2020-2024 by ZCTA; meters: ERCOT daily files, Oct 7-18, 2026.
Business electricity in Houston
Houston business meters: 177,810 (7.2 homes per business meter); large non-residential meters in Houston’s main ZIP codes: 781 (ERCOT, October 5, 2026).
We compare retail providers and direct suppliers and can bid out high-consumption accounts, but we can’t promise savings or how many suppliers will bid. Businesses in Texas retail-choice areas can request a rate review online.
What are some Houston ZIP codes?
Example ZIP codes for Houston, not a list of addresses that can shop; some cross city or utility lines. Meter counts cover the whole ZIP code.
| ZIP code | Area | Active residential meters (ERCOT) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 77007 | Houston | 30,535 | Washington Avenue / Rice Military area. |
| 77077 | Houston | 29,939 | Energy Corridor / west Houston. |
| 77036 | Houston | 26,343 | Sharpstown / Gulfton. |
| 77008 | Houston | 24,040 | The Heights. |
| 77042 | Houston | 21,234 | Westchase. |
| 77057 | Houston | 19,556 | Galleria / Uptown; many apartment buildings, some master-metered. |
| 77072 | Houston | 18,880 | Alief. |
| 77009 | Houston | 18,266 | Near Northside. |
| 77004 | Houston | 18,217 | Third Ward / Museum District. |
| 77019 | Houston | 17,591 | River Oaks / Montrose edge. |
| 77099 | Houston | 17,370 | Alief / southwest Houston. |
| 77080 | Houston | 17,069 | Spring Branch. |
| 77063 | Houston | 16,761 | Westchase / Woodlake; some master-metered apartments. |
| 77006 | Houston | 16,440 | Montrose. |
| 77054 | Houston | 15,996 | Near the Texas Medical Center and NRG Park. |
Availability varies by service address. Enter yours to see plans.
How do I compare electricity plans in Houston?
Enter a Houston ZIP code, then your service address. If it can shop, you’ll see plans; read each plan’s Electricity Facts Label (price at your usage, base charge, credits, term, cancellation fee) before you choose.
Where to next?
More in Houston area (CenterPoint): Electricity in Katy
Other Texas regions: Electricity in Corpus Christi
Compare plans · Moving · High bill · Should I switch? · Texas rates · Texas electricity choice · All cities
Sources
- ERCOT TDSP ESIID Extract (report 203), Oct 5, 2026
- PUCT broker directory (BR260201)
- PUCT: Choosing an Electric Plan
- Power to Choose (PUCT)
- Power to Choose FAQ
- CenterPoint Energy
- Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates (B25003 households, B01003 population)
- 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
- CenterPoint delivery tariff (effective October 1, 2026)
- Texas Tribune, July 25, 2024: CenterPoint and Hurricane Beryl
- CenterPoint Energy: Hurricane Beryl restoration updates
BJW Ventures LLC d/b/a Power Hopper | PUCT BR260201. PUCT registration is not an endorsement.
Common questions
Can every address in Houston choose an electricity provider?
Most can, but not all. Houston addresses on CenterPoint’s system can choose a retail provider; some apartment buildings are master-metered, and electric co-ops serve some areas at the edges of the region without retail choice. Enter your ZIP code, then your address.
How many homes in Houston have electric service on the competitive market?
ERCOT’s TDSP ESIID Extract lists 1,277,704 active residential electric meters (ESI IDs) with a Houston address (October 5, 2026), roughly one per home or apartment with a retail electricity provider.
Does a Houston mailing address mean the home is inside Houston city limits?
Not always. ERCOT’s extract lists 1,277,704 active residential meters with a Houston postal address, but several of the largest Houston-postal ZIP codes, such as 77084, 77095 and 77070, are mostly in unincorporated Harris County. The ZIP codes on this page were almost entirely inside city limits in the Census 2010 ZIP-to-place file. CenterPoint delivers the power either way.
Do the wires or the delivery utility change if I switch providers?
No. The delivery utility, CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, keeps the same wires and still delivers the electricity, and its delivery charges still appear on your bill. Switching changes the retail provider that bills you, not the wires.