# Salado, Texas electricity: Oncor wires and 4,474 competitive homes

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

**Salado at a glance:** 4,474 Salado-addressed homes, all wired by Oncor (ERCOT, Oct. 5, 2026). Salado's 4,474 placed homes sit in unsplit ZIP codes; a lookup still confirms each address.

## Moving to Salado

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

- **Public schools:** Salado ISD.
- **Driver license:** Texas DPS Driver License Office: Temple, 512-424-2600.

## Facts
- Land: 3.1 sq mi; 827 residents and 297 households per sq mi; 2.79 people per Salado 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, Salado homes (ACS 2020-2024): electricity 93.2% (±4), utility gas 1.4%, propane 5.4%; Bell County overall: 86.0% 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 Salado homes paying a power bill, 32.4% report $250 or more a month and 8.7% under $100 (Bell County: 32.4% at $250+). (Source: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/)
- Housing stock: 81.8% detached houses, 6.8% in 5+ unit buildings; median year built 1992, 20.6% built 2010 or later. (Source: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/)
- Salado-addressed home meters on Oct. 5, 2026: 4,474 active, 392 inactive, 426 de-energized, so 15.5% were not in use (ERCOT). (Source: https://www.ercot.com/misapp/GetReports.do?reportTypeId=203)
- ACS 2020-2024: 13.3% of Salado housing units vacant (±6), with 12.1% of vacant units held for seasonal use. 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/)
- 4,474 home meters use the Salado postal name, against 920 households inside city limits (4.86 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/)
- New home meters, Oct. 7-18, 2026, Salado ZIP codes: 26 (top: 76513, 20); vacant-to-active: 49. (Source: https://www.ercot.com/misapp/GetReports.do?reportTypeId=203)
- 76571 carries 4,242 of 4,474 Salado-addressed homes (95%); ratio across the whole ZIP 1.21, from 4,255 home meters in all and 3,505 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/)

## Homes: heating fuel, bills, housing (ACS 2020-2024, the city (Census boundary))
- Heat with electricity: 93.2%
- Heat with utility gas: 1.4%
- Bill $250 or more: 32.4%
- Built 2010 or later: 20.6%
- Renter households: 12.6%
- Median year built: 1992

## Meters and households
- Residents, July 2025: 2,565
- Residents, 2020 base: 2,390
- Households (ACS): 920
- Active home meters: 4,474
- Inactive home meters: 392
- De-energized home meters: 426
- Active small-business meters: 1,084
- Active large-business meters: 1
- Home meters per household: 4.86
- ZIP codes listed: 2
- Split ZIP codes: 0
- County: Bell

## 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 76571 | 4,242 | 4,255 | 3,505 | 1.21 | none |
| 76513 | 232 | 19,402 | 15,904 | 1.22 | none |

## Businesses
1,085 business meters. Business rate reviews: /business.

## Questions
**Can Salado homes choose an electric provider?** Mostly. ERCOT counts 4,474 competitive Salado home meters, all on Oncor's system, against 920 households. An address lookup settles it.
**Do Salado homes heat with electricity?** 93.2% of Salado homes heat with electricity (ACS 2020-2024, margin ±4) and 1.4% with utility gas; 32.4% of bill-paying homes report $250 or more a month. Electric-heat homes should compare plans at winter usage.
**Which ZIP code covers most of Salado?** 76571 (4,242 Salado homes on the competitive market). Across the full ZIP: 1.21 meters per household, 4,255 home meters in all.
**Who handles Salado power outages?** Outages go to Oncor (oncor.com/outages), the wires utility for 4,474 Salado competitive homes.
**Moving to Salado: how do I start electricity?** Check the address is on Oncor's wires, choose a plan and a start date. Salado had 818 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
- 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, 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
- 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

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