# Vernon, Texas electricity: AEP Texas North wires and 4,387 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 4,387 active residential meters with a Vernon address, all on AEP Texas North's wires (October 5, 2026). Nearly every Vernon address in our data is on AEP Texas North's wires and can pick a retail provider.

## Moving to Vernon

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

- **City hall (ask about water service):** City of Vernon: City Hall (main line), 940-552-2581.
- **Natural gas:** Atmos Energy: customer service, 888-286-6700.
- **Public schools:** Vernon ISD.
- **Driver license:** Texas DPS Driver License Office: Vernon, 512-424-2600.

## Who delivers electricity in Vernon?
ERCOT counts 4,387 active residential meters with a Vernon address, all on AEP Texas North's wires (October 5, 2026).

## Can every address in Vernon choose?
No split flag on any ZIP code that holds Vernon's 4,387 competitive homes; most streets here can shop.

## What is different about Vernon?
- Vernon counted about 9,747 residents in the Census Bureau's 2025 estimate, against 10,083 in the 2020 base, a change of -3.3%. The largest one-year change was -141 people, from July 2021 to July 2022. July 1 estimates in between: 9,927 (2021), 9,786 (2022), 9,780 (2023), 9,748 (2024). (Source: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/cities/totals/sub-est2025_48.csv)
- Vernon covers 7.9 square miles of land (Census 2025 Gazetteer). That works out to about 1,235 residents and 470 occupied households per square mile of land, with roughly 2.6 residents for every Vernon 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/)
- Vernon-addressed homes make up 2.7% of the 163,108 residential meters on AEP Texas North's competitive system. (Source: https://www.ercot.com/misapp/GetReports.do?reportTypeId=203)
- Move-ins show up as vacant-to-active switches in ERCOT's daily files: 14 of them in the ZIP codes most Vernon homes use, Oct. 7-18, 2026. (Source: https://www.ercot.com/misapp/GetReports.do?reportTypeId=203)
- Vacancy signal: 20.6 percent of residential meters in Vernon's core ZIP codes were de-energized on October 5, 2026 (1,163 off, 4,479 on), per ERCOT. (Source: https://www.ercot.com/misapp/GetReports.do?reportTypeId=203)
- One ZIP code, 76384, holds almost every Vernon-addressed competitive home (4,387); it also carries 54 Lockett addresses. Taken whole, 76384 has 0.99 competitive meters per Census household: 4,479 meters, 4,537 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/)
- Mailing cities on the 4,479 competitive home meters in 76384, Vernon's main ZIP code: Vernon 4,387, Lockett 54. 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 76384, where the ACS 2020-2024 counts 33.2 percent of households as renters; in that part of Vernon, electricity accounts change hands with each lease. (Source: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/)
- Electric bills over $250 a month: 23.0 percent of households in 76384, Vernon's main ZIP code, per the ACS 2020-2024; the same survey puts median household income there at $53,564. (Source: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/)

## By the numbers
- Population (July 1, 2025 estimate): 9,747
- Population (2020 estimates base): 10,083
- Occupied households (ACS 2020-2024): 3,708
- Active residential meters with a Vernon address: 4,387
- Active business meters with a Vernon address: 1,240
- Residential meters per Census household: 1.18
- Delivery utilities (homes): AEP Texas North 4,387
- Counties: Wilbarger
- ZIP codes touching Vernon: 1
- Split ZIP codes (flagged below): 0

## Plan prices (median ¢/kWh at 500 / 1,000 / 2,000 kWh)
- AEP Texas North: 13.7 / 13 / 12.8; delivery 5.5751¢/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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 76384 | Vernon 98%, Lockett 1% | 2% | 4,479 | 4,537 | 0.99 | Near-full coverage. Mostly outside Vernon city limits. |

## Business electricity in Vernon
1,240 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
**Can Vernon residents pick their own electric company?** Most Vernon homes can. ERCOT's October 5, 2026 extract has 4,387 Vernon-addressed homes on AEP Texas North's competitive system, compared with 3,708 households in the Census survey. No Vernon ZIP code carries a split flag, but only an address lookup is certain.
**Where do most Vernon electricity customers live?** That is 76384, home to 4,387 of the competitive meters with a Vernon address. ZIP-wide: 4,479 ERCOT meters, about 4,537 Census households, 0.99 per household.
**How much is electricity in Vernon right now?** On October 19, 2026, the median fixed-rate Power to Choose listing on AEP Texas North's wires was 13¢ per kWh at 1,000 kWh a month (160 listings); AEP Texas North's delivery charge of 5.5751¢ per kWh plus $3.24 a month is included. A median is not a quote.
**How do I start electric service at a new Vernon address?** Start with the address check: AEP Texas North-delivered Vernon homes choose among the plans offered there and set a start date. Turnover is real in 76384, where 12.1% moved in the past year (ACS); ERCOT logged 14 vacant-to-active meters in 76384 Oct. 7-18, 2026.
**How many Vernon homes are on the competitive electricity market?** ERCOT's October 5, 2026 extract lists 4,387 competitive residential meters with a Vernon mailing address and 1,240 business meters; ACS 2020-2024: 3,708 occupied Vernon households.
**Who restores power in Vernon after an outage?** AEP Texas North, at aeptexas.com/outages: it carries power to all 4,387 Vernon-addressed competitive homes, whatever retail provider bills them.

## 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 (North Division): https://www.aeptexas.com/
- AEP Texas North delivery tariff (effective September 29, 2026): https://www.aeptexas.com/lib/docs/ratesandtariffs/Texas/AEP_TEXAS_TARIFF_Eff_Sept_29_2026v1.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/
- 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 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, table B25003: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/

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