# Merkel, Texas electricity: AEP Texas North wires, 1 split ZIP code to check

_Updated October 19, 2026. Data: ERCOT Oct 5, 2026; Census ACS 2020-2024; Power to Choose Oct 19, 2026, 7:59 AM CT._

**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.

## Moving to Merkel

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

## Facts
- Land: 2.8 sq mi; 892 residents and 328 households per sq mi; 2.72 people per Merkel 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/)
- Heating fuel, Merkel homes (ACS 2020-2024): electricity 46.5% (±10), utility gas 47.9%, propane 2.7%; Taylor County overall: 55.5% electric. (Source: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/)
- 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+). (Source: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/)
- Housing stock: 78.2% detached houses, 11.9% mobile homes; median year built 1961, 1.8% built 2010 or later. (Source: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/)
- Merkel-addressed home meters on Oct. 5, 2026: 1,114 active, 344 inactive, 418 de-energized, so 40.6% were not in use (ERCOT). (Source: https://www.ercot.com/misapp/GetReports.do?reportTypeId=203)
- ACS 2020-2024: 19.4% of Merkel housing units vacant (±8). Vacant homes keep meters that are not counted as households. (Source: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/)
- 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. (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/)
- 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. (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/, https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/eia861/)

## Homes: heating fuel, bills, housing (ACS 2020-2024, the city (Census boundary))
- 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

## Meters and households
- 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

## Plan prices (Oct 19, 2026 medians)
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.

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

| ZIP | Homes with this address | All ZIP homes | Households | Ratio | Flags |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 79536 | 1,114 | 1,140 | 1,695 | 0.67 | split |

## Businesses
315 business meters. Business rate reviews: /business.

## 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.

## 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
- ERCOT TDSP ESIID Extract (report 203), Oct 5, 2026: meters by status and premise type, by postal city: https://www.ercot.com/misapp/GetReports.do?reportTypeId=203
- Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates, tables B25040, B25132, B25024, B25034, B25035, B25018, B19013, B25003, B25002, B25004 (90% margins of error): https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/
- 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/
- AEP Texas (North Division): https://www.aeptexas.com/
- AEP Texas North delivery tariff (effective September 29, 2026): https://www.aeptexas.com/lib/docs/ratesandtariffs/Texas/AEP_TEXAS_TARIFF_Eff_Sept_29_2026v1.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/
- Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates, tables B25040, B25132, B25024, B25034, B25035, B25018, B19013, B25003, B25002, B25004 (90% margins of error): https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/
- Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates, tables B25040, B25132, B25024, B25034, B25035, B25018, B19013, B25003, B25002, B25004 (90% margins of error): https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/
- Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates, tables B25040, B25132, B25024, B25034, B25035, B25018, B19013, B25003, B25002, B25004 (90% margins of error): 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 estimates, tables B25040, B25132, B25024, B25034, B25035, B25018, B19013, B25003, B25002, B25004 (90% margins of error): 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 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/
- EIA-861 (2024) utility service territories by county: https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/eia861/

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