# Ponder, Texas electricity: Oncor 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._

**Ponder at a glance:** 1,142 Ponder-addressed homes, all wired by Oncor (ERCOT, Oct. 5, 2026). 1 split ZIP code (76259) holds 1,141 of Ponder's 1,141 placed homes (100%); those addresses need a lookup.

## Moving to Ponder

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

- **City hall (ask about water service):** Town of Ponder: Town Hall (main line), 940-479-2396.
- **Natural gas:** Atmos Energy: customer service, 888-286-6700.
- **Public schools:** Ponder ISD.
- **Driver license:** Texas DPS Driver License Office: Flower Mound, 512-424-2600.

## Facts
- Land: 3.4 sq mi; 849 residents and 256 households per sq mi; 3.31 people per Ponder 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, Ponder homes (ACS 2020-2024): electricity 86.2% (±2), utility gas 12.7%; Denton County overall: 54.2% electric. All-electric homes feel winter rates more. (Source: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/)
- Of Ponder homes paying a power bill, 36.0% report $250 or more a month and 9.0% under $100 (Denton County: 32.0% at $250+). (Source: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/)
- Housing stock: 95.9% detached houses; median year built 2008, 42.5% built 2010 or later. (Source: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/)
- Ponder-addressed home meters on Oct. 5, 2026: 1,142 active, 204 inactive, 73 de-energized, so 19.5% were not in use (ERCOT). (Source: https://www.ercot.com/misapp/GetReports.do?reportTypeId=203)
- 1,142 home meters use the Ponder postal name, against 864 households inside city limits (1.32 per household): the mailing area runs well past the boundary. (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/)
- 76259 carries every one of Ponder's placed homes; ratio across the whole ZIP 0.50, from 1,161 home meters in all and 2,302 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 Ponder ZIP: 76259, 0.50 competitive meters per household, 1,141 Ponder-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: 86.2%
- Heat with utility gas: 12.7%
- Bill $250 or more: 36.0%
- Built 2010 or later: 42.5%
- Renter households: 12.5%
- Median year built: 2008

## Meters and households
- Residents, July 2025: 2,863
- Residents, 2020 base: 2,452
- Households (ACS): 864
- Active home meters: 1,142
- Inactive home meters: 204
- De-energized home meters: 73
- Active small-business meters: 267
- Active large-business meters: 1
- Home meters per household: 1.32
- ZIP codes listed: 1
- Split ZIP codes: 1
- County: Denton

## Plan prices (Oct 19, 2026 medians)
Oncor (170 listings): 14.1¢ / 13.4¢ / 13.2¢ per kWh at 500 / 1,000 / 2,000 kWh, delivery 6.8673¢ + $4.06/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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 76259 | 1,141 | 1,161 | 2,302 | 0.5 | split, city utility 6% |

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

## Questions
**Can Ponder homes choose an electric provider?** Mostly. ERCOT counts 1,142 competitive Ponder home meters, all on Oncor's system, against 864 households. Split: 76259. An address lookup settles it.
**Do Ponder homes heat with electricity?** 86.2% of Ponder homes heat with electricity (ACS 2020-2024, margin ±2) and 12.7% with utility gas; 36.0% of bill-paying homes report $250 or more a month. Electric-heat homes should compare plans at winter usage.
**What ZIP code do most Ponder electricity customers have?** 76259 (1,141 Ponder homes on the competitive market). Across the full ZIP: 0.50 meters per household, 1,161 home meters in all.
**Who do I call when the power is out in Ponder?** Outages go to Oncor (oncor.com/outages), the wires utility for 1,142 Ponder competitive homes.
**How do I set up power at a new Ponder home?** Check the address is on Oncor's wires, choose a plan and a start date. Ponder had 277 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/
- Oncor Electric Delivery: https://www.oncor.com/
- Oncor delivery tariff (effective October 4, 2026): https://interchange.puc.texas.gov/Documents/59249_105_1676040.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
- 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 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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