# Penitas, Texas electricity: AEP Texas Central wires and 4,058 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 4,058 active residential meters with a Penitas address, all on AEP Texas Central's wires (October 5, 2026). Nearly every Penitas address in our data is on AEP Texas Central's wires and can pick a retail provider.

## Moving to Penitas

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

- **City hall (ask about water service):** City of Penitas: City Hall (main line), 956-581-3345.
- **Natural gas:** Texas Gas Service: customer service, 800-700-2443.
- **Public schools:** La Joya ISD.
- **Driver license:** Texas DPS Driver License Office: Mission, 512-424-2600.

## Who delivers electricity in Penitas?
ERCOT counts 4,058 active residential meters with a Penitas address, all on AEP Texas Central's wires (October 5, 2026).

## Can every address in Penitas choose?
No split flag on any ZIP code that holds Penitas's 4,047 competitive homes; most streets here can shop.

## What is different about Penitas?
- ERCOT's data has no postal city for Salida del Sol Estates (a census-designated place of about 7,766 residents, ACS 2020-2024), mostly in ZIP 78576. Those homes use Penitas mailing addresses, so residents there can use this page's ZIP table; there is no separate page for Salida del Sol Estates. (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://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/rel2020/zcta520/)
- Population: 6,465 (2020 base) to 6,495 (July 2025), +0.5%, per Census Vintage 2025 estimates. The largest one-year change was +165 people, from July 2023 to July 2024. July 1 estimates in between: 6,392 (2021), 6,389 (2022), 6,384 (2023), 6,549 (2024). (Source: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/cities/totals/sub-est2025_48.csv)
- Penitas covers 9.4 square miles of land (Census 2025 Gazetteer). That works out to about 694 residents and 193 occupied households per square mile of land, with roughly 3.6 residents for every Penitas 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/)
- The Penitas mailing area is bigger than the city: ERCOT lists 4,058 competitive homes under the Penitas postal city, 2.24 for each of the city's 1,808 Census 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/)
- Of the 810,296 homes AEP Texas Central serves on the competitive market, 0.5% have a Penitas mailing 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: 18 of them in the ZIP codes most Penitas homes use, Oct. 7-18, 2026. (Source: https://www.ercot.com/misapp/GetReports.do?reportTypeId=203)
- On October 5, 2026, ERCOT showed 1,025 home meters switched off (de-energized) in the ZIP codes most Penitas homes use, against 6,220 switched on; that 14.1 percent is mostly vacant houses and apartments between occupants. (Source: https://www.ercot.com/misapp/GetReports.do?reportTypeId=203)
- Most Penitas electricity customers live in 78576: 3,856 homes, or 95 percent of the 4,047 with a Penitas address; the full ZIP comes to 1.12 meters a household. (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/)
- Among the 22 cities and towns that reach into Hidalgo County, Penitas places 12 for competitive homes on its postal city; the next one up is Palmview, at 4,721. (Source: https://www.ercot.com/misapp/GetReports.do?reportTypeId=203)
- By the Census Bureau's 2025 estimates, Penitas is the number 13 city or town by population among the 22 that reach into Hidalgo County, one place ahead of Elsa (5,820 residents). (Source: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/cities/totals/sub-est2025_48.csv)
- Mailing cities on the 4,070 competitive home meters in 78576, Penitas's main ZIP code: Penitas 3,856, La Joya 81, Palmview 81, Mission 49. 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 78560, where the ACS 2020-2024 counts 46.8 percent of households as renters; in that part of Penitas, electricity accounts change hands with each lease. (Source: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/)

## By the numbers
- Population (July 1, 2025 estimate): 6,495
- Population (2020 estimates base): 6,465
- Occupied households (ACS 2020-2024): 1,808
- Active residential meters with a Penitas address: 4,058
- Active business meters with a Penitas address: 518
- Residential meters per Census household: 2.24
- Delivery utilities (homes): AEP Texas Central 4,058
- Counties: Hidalgo
- ZIP codes touching Penitas: 3
- Split ZIP codes (flagged below): 0

## Plan prices (median ¢/kWh at 500 / 1,000 / 2,000 kWh)
- AEP Texas Central: 12.7 / 12.1 / 12; delivery 5.6898¢/kWh + $3.24/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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 78572 | Mission 83%, Palmview 10%, Moore Field 4% | 1% | 35,943 | 26,723 | 1.35 | Near-full coverage. 15 new residential meters Oct 7-18, 2026. Mostly outside Penitas city limits. |
| 78576 | Penitas 95%, La Joya 2%, Palmview 2% | 15% | 4,070 | 3,637 | 1.12 | Near-full coverage.  |
| 78560 | La Joya 90%, Penitas 9% | 0% | 2,150 | 1,467 | 1.47 | Near-full coverage. Mostly outside Penitas city limits. |

## Business electricity in Penitas
518 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
**I live in Salida del Sol Estates. Which electricity page covers me?** Use this Penitas page. Salida del Sol Estates has no postal city of its own in ERCOT's data; its homes carry Penitas addresses. In ZIP 78576, ERCOT lists 4,070 competitive residential meters against about 3,637 Census households (ratio 1.12). Check your exact address.
**Does Penitas have electricity choice?** Most Penitas homes can. ERCOT's October 5, 2026 extract has 4,058 Penitas-addressed homes on AEP Texas Central's competitive system, compared with 1,808 households in the Census survey. No Penitas ZIP code carries a split flag, but only an address lookup is certain.
**Where do most Penitas electricity customers live?** That is 78576, home to 3,856 of the competitive meters with a Penitas address. ZIP-wide: 4,070 ERCOT meters, about 3,637 Census households, 1.12 per household.
**Are electric bills high in Penitas?** 78576 has the highest share of $250-plus monthly electric bills among Penitas's core ZIP codes (45.6 percent of households, ACS 2020-2024); 78560 has 20.6 percent. Bigger and all-electric homes push the share up.
**I'm moving to Penitas. How do I set up electricity?** 4.4% of 78560 residents moved within a year (ACS), and 10 meters in 78576 turned from vacant to active Oct. 7-18, 2026. Check that your Penitas address is on AEP Texas Central's wires, then choose a plan and start date.
**Why are there more electric meters than households in Penitas?** 4,058 Penitas-addressed meters against 1,808 city households is 2.24 per household: the Penitas postal area extends past city limits, and new homes get meters before the Census counts them. It doesn't mean every nearby address can choose.

## 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/
- AEP Texas (Central Division): https://www.aeptexas.com/
- AEP Texas Central delivery tariff (effective September 29, 2026): https://www.aeptexas.com/lib/docs/ratesandtariffs/Texas/AEP_TEXAS_TARIFF_Eff_Sept_29_2026v1.pdf
- 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 2020 ZCTA-to-place relationship file: https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/rel2020/zcta520/
- 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
- 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/

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