Rancho Viejo, Texas electricity: AEP Texas Central wires, 1 split ZIP code to check
Rancho Viejo, pop. 2,851, buys power over AEP Texas Central's lines; 1,467 homes here are on the competitive market.
Reviewed by Brent Ward, founder, on 2026-10-19. Updated .
Rancho Viejo at a glance: 1,467 Rancho Viejo-addressed homes, all wired by AEP Texas Central (ERCOT, Oct. 5, 2026). 1 split ZIP code (78575) holds 1,468 of Rancho Viejo's 1,468 placed homes (100%); those addresses need a lookup.
Rancho Viejo wires and choice
AEP Texas Central outages: aeptexas.com/outages. AEP Texas Central
1 split ZIP code (78575) holds 1,468 of Rancho Viejo's 1,468 placed homes (100%); those addresses need a lookup.
Non-choice utilities listed by EIA (2024) for Cameron: 1.
Moving to Rancho Viejo
Local numbers for setting up a home in Rancho Viejo, each checked on the official source. More contacts, and a printable list, are on Rancho Viejo helpful move-in information.
- City hall (ask about water service): Town of Rancho Viejo: Town Hall (main line), 956-350-4093.
- Trash pickup: Republic Services: trash and recycling, 800-423-7316.
- Natural gas: Texas Gas Service: customer service, 800-700-2443.
- Public schools: Brownsville ISD, Los Fresnos CISD.
- Driver license: Texas DPS Driver License Office: Brownsville, 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 Rancho Viejo 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 Rancho Viejo
Typical weather near Rancho Viejo, from the nearest NOAA station with a complete 1991-2020 record: Brownsville, about 12 miles from the city center (station elevation 23 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 96°F; January has the coolest average low, 53°F. Average daily highs reach 90°F or more in May to September. 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 683 for the month, and heating-degree days (below 65°F) peak in January at 143. 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 | 73 | 53 | 1.1 | 76 | 143 |
| Feb | 76 | 57 | 1.0 | 119 | 76 |
| Mar | 81 | 62 | 1.5 | 225 | 29 |
| Apr | 86 | 68 | 1.5 | 356 | 5 |
| May | 90 | 74 | 2.2 | 527 | 0 |
| Jun | 94 | 77 | 2.9 | 618 | 0 |
| Jul | 95 | 78 | 2.0 | 664 | 0 |
| Aug | 96 | 78 | 2.2 | 683 | 0 |
| Sep | 92 | 75 | 5.7 | 554 | 0 |
| Oct | 87 | 69 | 3.8 | 406 | 5 |
| Nov | 80 | 61 | 1.8 | 210 | 43 |
| Dec | 74 | 55 | 1.2 | 106 | 123 |
Historical weather records for Cameron County
The Texas Railroad Commission's county table lists a record low of 12°F (1899) and a record high of 108°F (1915), and a regional estimate of 18 consecutive hours as a typical longest freezing or frozen-precipitation period for Cameron County. These are historical county extremes, not Rancho Viejo'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 Rancho Viejo, and not an estimate for your home. EIA source.
Sources: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020, station USW00012919; Texas Railroad Commission, Historical Weather Data by County (2022).
Rancho Viejo electricity, in numbers and sources
- Land: 2.1 sq mi (water 0.3); 1,389 residents and 534 households per sq mi; 2.60 people per Rancho Viejo household. [Gazetteer; PEP; ACS]
- Heating fuel, Rancho Viejo homes (ACS 2020-2024): electricity 95.7% (±3), utility gas 2.6%; Cameron County overall: 89.9% electric. All-electric homes feel winter rates more. [ACS]
- Of Rancho Viejo homes paying a power bill, 59.4% report $250 or more a month and 5.7% under $100 (Cameron County: 30.9% at $250+). [ACS]
- Housing stock: 69.9% detached houses, 17.1% in 5+ unit buildings; median year built 1984, 5.4% built 2010 or later. [ACS]
- Rancho Viejo-addressed home meters on Oct. 5, 2026: 1,467 active, 1 inactive, 42 de-energized, so 2.8% were not in use (ERCOT). [ERCOT]
- ACS 2020-2024: 13.6% of Rancho Viejo housing units vacant (±7), with 23.1% of vacant units held for seasonal use. Vacant homes keep meters that are not counted as households. [ACS]
- 1,467 home meters use the Rancho Viejo postal name, against 1,096 households inside city limits (1.34 per household): the mailing area runs well past the boundary. [ERCOT; ACS]
- 78575 carries every one of Rancho Viejo's placed homes; ratio across the whole ZIP 1.65, from 2,665 home meters in all and 1,620 households. [ERCOT; ACS]
Rancho Viejo homes: heating fuel, bills, housing
| Rancho Viejo | Estimate |
|---|---|
| Heat with electricity | 95.7% |
| Heat with utility gas | 2.6% |
| Bill $250 or more | 59.4% |
| Built 2010 or later | 5.4% |
| Renter households | 34.3% |
| Median year built | 1984 |
ACS 2020-2024, the city (Census boundary). Bill rows are shares of homes that pay an electric bill.
Rancho Viejo meters and households
| Count | Rancho Viejo |
|---|---|
| Residents, July 2025 | 2,851 |
| Residents, 2020 base | 2,832 |
| Households (ACS) | 1,096 |
| Active home meters | 1,467 |
| Inactive home meters | 1 |
| De-energized home meters | 42 |
| Active small-business meters | 113 |
| Active large-business meters | 0 |
| Home meters per household | 1.34 |
| ZIP codes listed | 1 |
| Split ZIP codes | 1 |
| County | Cameron |
ERCOT report 203, Oct. 5, 2026 (Rancho Viejo postal city) and Census. CSV · Method
Rancho Viejo plan prices, October 19, 2026
Median fixed-rate Power to Choose listings. AEP Texas Central (164 listings): 12.7¢ / 12.1¢ / 12¢ per kWh at 500 / 1,000 / 2,000 kWh, delivery 5.6898¢ + $3.24/mo included. Not a quote.
Rancho Viejo ZIP codes, row by row
Not every address in these ZIP codes has retail choice; check your exact address.
| ZIP code | Rancho Viejo homes | All ZIP homes | Rancho Viejo share | ZIP households | Share of Rancho Viejo land | Meters per household | Flags |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 78575 | 1,468 | 2,665 | 55% | 1,620 | 100% | 1.65 | split, city utility 32% |
Rancho Viejo split ZIP codes: 78575.
Towns around Rancho Viejo
| From Rancho Viejo | Town (2,000+) | Homes vs Rancho Viejo | Wires | Per household | Competitive homes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 mi | Los Fresnos | 3.6× | AEP Texas Central | 2.22 | 5,254 |
| 6 mi | Brownsville | 6.8× | AEP Texas Central | 0.17 | 9,974 |
| 8 mi | San Benito | 8.4× | AEP Texas Central | 1.47 | 12,290 |
| 14 mi | Rio Hondo | 0.8× | AEP Texas Central | 1.57 | 1,165 |
| 14 mi | Harlingen | 19.9× | AEP Texas Central | 1.12 | 29,141 |
| 15 mi | Port Isabel | 2.4× | AEP Texas Central | 1.68 | 3,465 |
Rancho Viejo businesses
113 Rancho Viejo-addressed business meters; 0 large-class meters across its main ZIP codes (ERCOT). Request a business rate review.
Compare Rancho Viejo plans
Rancho Viejo questions
Do I get to pick my electric company in Rancho Viejo?
Yes, on AEP Texas Central's wires: 1,467 Rancho Viejo homes were on the competitive market Oct. 5, 2026 (1.34 per household). Split: 78575. Confirm your address.
Do Rancho Viejo homes heat with electricity?
95.7% of Rancho Viejo homes heat with electricity (ACS 2020-2024, margin ±3) and 2.6% with utility gas; 59.4% of bill-paying homes report $250 or more a month. Electric-heat homes should compare plans at winter usage.
What ZIP code do most Rancho Viejo electricity customers have?
78575 (1,468 Rancho Viejo homes on the competitive market). Across the full ZIP: 1.65 meters per household, 2,665 home meters in all.
Who do I call when the power is out in Rancho Viejo?
Outages go to AEP Texas Central (aeptexas.com/outages), the wires utility for 1,467 Rancho Viejo competitive homes.
Moving to Rancho Viejo: how do I start electricity?
Check the address is on AEP Texas Central's wires, choose a plan and a start date. Rancho Viejo had 43 idle home meters (inactive or de-energized) on Oct. 5, 2026, so many move-ins reconnect an existing meter.
Near Rancho Viejo
Wires and county: AEP Texas Central · Cameron. Nearby pages: Harlingen (14 mi) · Laguna Vista (17 mi) · Los Fresnos (5 mi) · Port Isabel (15 mi) · Rio Hondo (14 mi) · San Benito (8 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 (Central Division)
- AEP Texas Central 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.