South Padre Island, Texas electricity: AEP Texas Central wires and 7,591 competitive homes
7,591 home meters, 1,598 households, 1 ZIP code: South Padre Island on AEP Texas Central's wires, ZIP by ZIP.
Reviewed by Brent Ward, founder, on 2026-10-19. Updated .
South Padre Island at a glance: 7,591 South Padre Island-addressed homes, all wired by AEP Texas Central (ERCOT, Oct. 5, 2026). South Padre Island's 7,588 placed homes sit in unsplit ZIP codes; a lookup still confirms each address.
South Padre Island wires and choice
AEP Texas Central outages: aeptexas.com/outages. AEP Texas Central
South Padre Island's 7,588 placed homes sit in unsplit ZIP codes; a lookup still confirms each address.
Non-choice utilities listed by EIA (2024) for Cameron: 1.
Moving to South Padre Island
Local numbers for setting up a home in South Padre Island, each checked on the official source. More contacts, and a printable list, are on South Padre Island helpful move-in information.
- Water and utility billing: utility billing (start, transfer or stop water service), 956-943-2626.
- Public schools: Point Isabel ISD.
- 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 South Padre Island 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 South Padre Island
Typical weather near South Padre Island, from the nearest NOAA station with a complete 1991-2020 record: Port Isabel, about 9 miles from the city center (station elevation 17 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 92°F; January has the coolest average low, 52°F. Average daily highs reach 90°F or more in June to August. 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 606 for the month, and heating-degree days (below 65°F) peak in January at 184. 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 | 69 | 52 | 1.5 | 38 | 184 |
| Feb | 72 | 56 | 1.2 | 78 | 99 |
| Mar | 76 | 61 | 1.7 | 152 | 45 |
| Apr | 81 | 67 | 1.6 | 277 | 10 |
| May | 86 | 73 | 2.4 | 447 | 0 |
| Jun | 90 | 76 | 3.1 | 546 | 0 |
| Jul | 91 | 77 | 2.3 | 589 | 0 |
| Aug | 92 | 77 | 1.9 | 606 | 0 |
| Sep | 89 | 74 | 6.2 | 486 | 0 |
| Oct | 85 | 69 | 3.9 | 378 | 4 |
| Nov | 78 | 61 | 1.8 | 172 | 49 |
| Dec | 71 | 54 | 1.4 | 69 | 160 |
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 South Padre Island'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 South Padre Island, and not an estimate for your home. EIA source.
Sources: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020, station USC00417179; Texas Railroad Commission, Historical Weather Data by County (2022).
South Padre Island electricity, in numbers and sources
- Land: 2.7 sq mi (water 1.0); 776 residents and 594 households per sq mi; 1.31 people per South Padre Island household. [Gazetteer; PEP; ACS]
- Heating fuel, South Padre Island homes (ACS 2020-2024): electricity 97.5% (±6), utility gas 2.5%; Cameron County overall: 89.9% electric. All-electric homes feel winter rates more. [ACS]
- Of South Padre Island homes paying a power bill, 18.6% report $250 or more a month and 22.0% under $100 (Cameron County: 30.9% at $250+); 78.2% of homes pay one at all. [ACS]
- Housing stock: 12.6% detached houses, 73.5% in 5+ unit buildings; median year built 1984, 7.2% built 2010 or later. [ACS]
- South Padre Island-addressed home meters on Oct. 5, 2026: 7,591 active, 324 inactive, 220 de-energized, so 6.7% were not in use (ERCOT). [ERCOT]
- ACS 2020-2024: 71.1% of South Padre Island housing units vacant (±5), with 94.1% of vacant units held for seasonal use. Vacant homes keep meters that are not counted as households. [ACS]
- 7,591 home meters use the South Padre Island postal name, against 1,598 households inside city limits (4.75 per household): the mailing area runs well past the boundary. [ERCOT; ACS]
- 78597 carries every one of South Padre Island's placed homes; ratio across the whole ZIP 4.62, from 7,588 home meters in all and 1,642 households. [ERCOT; ACS]
South Padre Island homes: heating fuel, bills, housing
| South Padre Island | Estimate |
|---|---|
| Heat with electricity | 97.5% |
| Heat with utility gas | 2.5% |
| Bill $250 or more | 18.6% |
| Built 2010 or later | 7.2% |
| Renter households | 30.2% |
| Median year built | 1984 |
ACS 2020-2024, the city (Census boundary). Bill rows are shares of homes that pay an electric bill.
South Padre Island meters and households
| Count | South Padre Island |
|---|---|
| Residents, July 2025 | 2,086 |
| Residents, 2020 base | 2,077 |
| Households (ACS) | 1,598 |
| Active home meters | 7,591 |
| Inactive home meters | 324 |
| De-energized home meters | 220 |
| Active small-business meters | 1,215 |
| Active large-business meters | 0 |
| Home meters per household | 4.75 |
| ZIP codes listed | 1 |
| Split ZIP codes | 0 |
| County | Cameron |
ERCOT report 203, Oct. 5, 2026 (South Padre Island postal city) and Census. CSV · Method
South Padre Island 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.
South Padre Island ZIP codes, row by row
Not every address in these ZIP codes has retail choice; check your exact address.
| ZIP code | South Padre Island homes | All ZIP homes | South Padre Island share | ZIP households | Share of South Padre Island land | Meters per household | Flags |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 78597 | 7,588 | 7,588 | 100% | 1,642 | 100% | 4.62 | none |
South Padre Island split ZIP codes: none.
Towns around South Padre Island
| From South Padre Island | Town (2,000+) | Homes vs South Padre Island | Wires | Per household | Competitive homes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 mi | Laguna Vista | 0.3× | AEP Texas Central | 1.38 | 2,219 |
| 9 mi | Port Isabel | 0.5× | AEP Texas Central | 1.68 | 3,465 |
| 20 mi | Los Fresnos | 0.7× | AEP Texas Central | 2.22 | 5,254 |
| 21 mi | Brownsville | 1.3× | AEP Texas Central | 0.17 | 9,974 |
| 25 mi | Rancho Viejo | 0.2× | AEP Texas Central | 1.34 | 1,467 |
| 27 mi | Rio Hondo | 0.2× | AEP Texas Central | 1.57 | 1,165 |
South Padre Island businesses
1,215 South Padre Island-addressed business meters; 0 large-class meters across its main ZIP codes (ERCOT). Request a business rate review.
Compare South Padre Island plans
South Padre Island questions
Can South Padre Island homes choose an electric provider?
Yes, on AEP Texas Central's wires: 7,591 South Padre Island homes were on the competitive market Oct. 5, 2026 (4.75 per household). Confirm your address.
Why are some South Padre Island electric bills so high in winter?
97.5% of South Padre Island homes heat with electricity (ACS 2020-2024, margin ±6) and 2.5% with utility gas; 18.6% 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 South Padre Island?
78597: 7,588 South Padre Island-addressed competitive homes; ratio 4.62 across the ZIP (7,588 home meters in all, 1,642 households).
Who handles South Padre Island power outages?
Outages go to AEP Texas Central (aeptexas.com/outages), the wires utility for 7,591 South Padre Island competitive homes.
How do I set up power at a new South Padre Island home?
Check the address is on AEP Texas Central's wires, choose a plan and a start date. South Padre Island had 544 idle home meters (inactive or de-energized) on Oct. 5, 2026, so many move-ins reconnect an existing meter.
Near South Padre Island
Wires and county: AEP Texas Central · Cameron. Nearby pages: Laguna Vista (8 mi) · Los Fresnos (20 mi) · Port Isabel (9 mi) · Rancho Viejo (25 mi) · Rio Hondo (27 mi) · San Benito (29 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.