Merkel, Texas electricity: AEP Texas North wires, 1 split ZIP code to check
AEP Texas North wires, 1 split ZIP code and 1,114 competitive homes: the Merkel numbers.
Reviewed by Brent Ward, founder, on 2026-10-19. Updated .
Merkel at a glance: 1,114 Merkel-addressed homes, all wired by AEP Texas North (ERCOT, Oct. 5, 2026). 1 split ZIP code (79536) holds 1,114 of Merkel's 1,114 placed homes (100%); those addresses need a lookup.
Merkel wires and choice
AEP Texas North outages: aeptexas.com/outages. AEP Texas North
1 split ZIP code (79536) holds 1,114 of Merkel's 1,114 placed homes (100%); those addresses need a lookup.
Non-choice utilities listed by EIA (2024) for Taylor: 2.
Moving to Merkel
Local numbers for setting up a home in Merkel, each checked on the official source. More contacts, and a printable list, are on Merkel helpful move-in information.
- City hall (ask about water service): City of Merkel: City Hall (main line), 325-928-4911.
- Natural gas: Atmos Energy: customer service, 888-286-6700.
- Public schools: Merkel ISD.
- Driver license: Texas DPS Driver License Office: Abilene, 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 Merkel 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 Merkel
Typical weather near Merkel, from the nearest NOAA station with a complete 1991-2020 record: Merkel 12 SW, about 12 miles from the city center (station elevation 2,249 ft). These are normals for that station, not readings at your address. July is the warmest month on average, with a normal daily high of 94°F; January has the coolest average low, 31°F. Average daily highs reach 90°F or more in June to August. Average lows are at or below freezing in January.
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 July at 530 for the month, and heating-degree days (below 65°F) peak in January at 667. 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 | 56 | 31 | 1.1 | 1 | 667 |
| Feb | 61 | 33 | 1.5 | 5 | 508 |
| Mar | 69 | 41 | 1.8 | 15 | 324 |
| Apr | 78 | 49 | 1.9 | 78 | 135 |
| May | 85 | 59 | 3.4 | 247 | 33 |
| Jun | 91 | 67 | 3.2 | 423 | 0 |
| Jul | 94 | 70 | 2.0 | 530 | 0 |
| Aug | 93 | 69 | 2.9 | 502 | 0 |
| Sep | 86 | 62 | 3.2 | 293 | 13 |
| Oct | 78 | 51 | 2.7 | 104 | 120 |
| Nov | 66 | 40 | 1.5 | 11 | 366 |
| Dec | 57 | 33 | 1.4 | 1 | 620 |
Historical weather records for Taylor County
The Texas Railroad Commission's county table lists a record low of -9°F (1947) and a record high of 111°F (2011), and a regional estimate of 30 consecutive hours as a typical longest freezing or frozen-precipitation period for Taylor County. These are historical county extremes, not Merkel'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 Merkel, and not an estimate for your home. EIA source.
Sources: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020, station USC00415852; Texas Railroad Commission, Historical Weather Data by County (2022).
Merkel electricity, in numbers and sources
- Land: 2.8 sq mi; 892 residents and 328 households per sq mi; 2.72 people per Merkel household. [Gazetteer; PEP; ACS]
- Heating fuel, Merkel homes (ACS 2020-2024): electricity 46.5% (±10), utility gas 47.9%, propane 2.7%; Taylor County overall: 55.5% electric. [ACS]
- Of Merkel homes paying a power bill, 49.5% report $250 or more a month and 12.9% under $100 (Taylor County: 31.4% at $250+). [ACS]
- Housing stock: 78.2% detached houses, 11.9% mobile homes; median year built 1961, 1.8% built 2010 or later. [ACS]
- Merkel-addressed home meters on Oct. 5, 2026: 1,114 active, 344 inactive, 418 de-energized, so 40.6% were not in use (ERCOT). [ERCOT]
- ACS 2020-2024: 19.4% of Merkel housing units vacant (±8). Vacant homes keep meters that are not counted as households. [ACS]
- 79536 carries every one of Merkel's placed homes; ratio across the whole ZIP 0.67, from 1,140 home meters in all and 1,695 households. [ERCOT; ACS]
- Weakest Merkel ZIP: 79536, 0.67 competitive meters per household, 1,114 Merkel-addressed. EIA (2024) lists 4 co-ops in its counties; co-op members stay with the co-op unless it opted in to competition. [ERCOT; ACS; EIA]
Merkel homes: heating fuel, bills, housing
| Merkel | Estimate |
|---|---|
| Heat with electricity | 46.5% |
| Heat with utility gas | 47.9% |
| Bill $250 or more | 49.5% |
| Built 2010 or later | 1.8% |
| Renter households | 27.0% |
| Median year built | 1961 |
ACS 2020-2024, the city (Census boundary). Bill rows are shares of homes that pay an electric bill.
Merkel meters and households
| Count | Merkel |
|---|---|
| Residents, July 2025 | 2,496 |
| Residents, 2020 base | 2,494 |
| Households (ACS) | 918 |
| Active home meters | 1,114 |
| Inactive home meters | 344 |
| De-energized home meters | 418 |
| Active small-business meters | 315 |
| Active large-business meters | 0 |
| Home meters per household | 1.21 |
| ZIP codes listed | 1 |
| Split ZIP codes | 1 |
| County | Taylor |
ERCOT report 203, Oct. 5, 2026 (Merkel postal city) and Census. CSV · Method
Merkel plan prices, October 19, 2026
Median fixed-rate Power to Choose listings. AEP Texas North (160 listings): 13.7¢ / 13¢ / 12.8¢ per kWh at 500 / 1,000 / 2,000 kWh, delivery 5.5751¢ + $3.24/mo included. Not a quote.
Merkel ZIP codes, row by row
Not every address in these ZIP codes has retail choice; check your exact address.
| ZIP code | Merkel homes | All ZIP homes | Merkel share | ZIP households | Share of Merkel land | Meters per household | Flags |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 79536 | 1,114 | 1,140 | 98% | 1,695 | 100% | 0.67 | split |
Merkel split ZIP codes: 79536.
Towns around Merkel
| From Merkel | Town (2,000+) | Homes vs Merkel | Wires | Per household | Competitive homes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 mi | Abilene | 45.3× | AEP Texas North | 1.08 | 50,457 |
| 21 mi | Anson | 1.0× | AEP Texas North | 1.04 | 1,119 |
| 23 mi | Sweetwater | 4.5× | Oncor | 1.17 | 4,984 |
Merkel businesses
315 Merkel-addressed business meters; 0 large-class meters across its main ZIP codes (ERCOT). Request a business rate review.
Compare Merkel plans
Merkel questions
Do I get to pick my electric company in Merkel?
Mostly. ERCOT counts 1,114 competitive Merkel home meters, all on AEP Texas North's system, against 918 households. Split: 79536. An address lookup settles it.
Do Merkel homes heat with electricity?
46.5% of Merkel homes heat with electricity (ACS 2020-2024, margin ±10) and 47.9% with utility gas; 49.5% of bill-paying homes report $250 or more a month. Electric-heat homes should compare plans at winter usage.
What ZIP code do most Merkel electricity customers have?
79536 (1,114 Merkel homes on the competitive market). Across the full ZIP: 0.67 meters per household, 1,140 home meters in all.
Who handles Merkel power outages?
Outages go to AEP Texas North (aeptexas.com/outages), the wires utility for 1,114 Merkel competitive homes.
How do I set up power at a new Merkel home?
Check the address is on AEP Texas North's wires, choose a plan and a start date. Merkel had 762 idle home meters (inactive or de-energized) on Oct. 5, 2026, so many move-ins reconnect an existing meter.
Near Merkel
Wires and county: AEP Texas North · Taylor. Nearby pages: Abilene (16 mi) · Anson (21 mi) · Clyde (30 mi) · Stamford (47 mi) · Sweetwater (23 mi) · Winters (36 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 (North Division)
- AEP Texas North 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.