Zapata, Texas electricity: AEP Texas Central wires and 4,896 competitive homes

4,896 home meters, 1,853 households, 1 ZIP code: Zapata on AEP Texas Central's wires, ZIP by ZIP.

Reviewed by Brent Ward, founder, on 2026-10-19. Updated October 19, 2026.

Zapata at a glance: 4,896 Zapata-addressed homes, all wired by AEP Texas Central (ERCOT, Oct. 5, 2026). Zapata's 4,896 placed homes sit in unsplit ZIP codes; a lookup still confirms each address.

Zapata wires and choice

AEP Texas Central outages: aeptexas.com/outages. AEP Texas Central

Zapata's 4,896 placed homes sit in unsplit ZIP codes; a lookup still confirms each address.

Non-choice utilities listed by EIA (2024) for Zapata: 1.

Moving to Zapata

Local numbers for setting up a home in Zapata, each checked on the official source. More contacts, and a printable list, are on Zapata helpful move-in information.

Public schools: Zapata County ISD.
Driver license: Texas DPS Driver License Office: Zapata, 512-424-2600.

Moving to Zapata? Line up electricity before move-in day, not after the first electric bill arrives. Your other utilities each need their own start-service steps too.

Set Up Electricity for Your Move

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 Zapata 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.

Review My Electricity Bill

Zapata electricity, in numbers and sources

Covered here as well: Medina (pop. 4,226, 0 own-addressed meters; ZIP 78076). Most of their homes carry Zapata mailing addresses in ERCOT's data, so the Zapata ZIP rows apply. [ERCOT; ACS; ZCTA file]
Zapata is a census-designated place: no annual estimate, but ACS 2020-2024 counts about 4,897 residents in 1,853 households. [ACS]
Land: 7.6 sq mi (water 2.0); 641 residents and 242 households per sq mi; 2.64 people per Zapata household. [Gazetteer; PEP; ACS]
Heating fuel, Zapata homes (ACS 2020-2024): electricity 90.4% (±5), utility gas 4.0%, propane 4.2%; Zapata County overall: 88.8% electric. All-electric homes feel winter rates more. [ACS]
Of Zapata homes paying a power bill, 31.3% report $250 or more a month and 16.8% under $100 (Zapata County: 37.8% at $250+). [ACS]
Housing stock: 64.0% detached houses, 6.2% in 5+ unit buildings, 18.3% mobile homes; median year built 1993, 12.4% built 2010 or later. [ACS]
Zapata-addressed home meters on Oct. 5, 2026: 4,896 active, 1,637 inactive, 1,604 de-energized, so 39.8% were not in use (ERCOT). [ERCOT]
ACS 2020-2024: 24.3% of Zapata housing units vacant (±7), with 47.3% of vacant units held for seasonal use. Vacant homes keep meters that are not counted as households. [ACS]
4,896 home meters use the Zapata postal name, against 1,853 households inside the CDP (2.64 per household): the mailing area runs well past the boundary. [ERCOT; ACS]
78076 carries every one of Zapata's placed homes; ratio across the whole ZIP 1.14, from 4,899 home meters in all and 4,303 households. [ERCOT; ACS]

Zapata homes: heating fuel, bills, housing

Zapata	Estimate
Heat with electricity	90.4%
Heat with utility gas	4.0%
Bill $250 or more	31.3%
Built 2010 or later	12.4%
Renter households	32.0%
Median year built	1993

ACS 2020-2024, the census-designated place (Census boundary). Bill rows are shares of homes that pay an electric bill.

Zapata meters and households

Count	Zapata
Residents (ACS)	4,897
Households (ACS)	1,853
Active home meters	4,896
Inactive home meters	1,637
De-energized home meters	1,604
Active small-business meters	882
Active large-business meters	0
Home meters per household	2.64
ZIP codes listed	1
Split ZIP codes	0
County	Zapata

ERCOT report 203, Oct. 5, 2026 (Zapata postal city) and Census. CSV · Method

Zapata 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.

Zapata ZIP codes, row by row

Not every address in these ZIP codes has retail choice; check your exact address.

ZIP code	Zapata homes	All ZIP homes	Zapata share	ZIP households	Share of Zapata land	Meters per household	Flags
78076	4,896	4,899	100%	4,303	100%	1.14	none

Zapata split ZIP codes: none.

Zapata businesses

882 Zapata-addressed business meters; 0 large-class meters across its main ZIP codes (ERCOT). Request a business rate review.

Compare Zapata plans

Zapata questions

Does this page cover Medina?

Yes. Medina has 0 meters under its own name; its homes mostly use Zapata addresses. ZIP 78076: ratio 1.14, from 4,899 home meters in all and 4,303 households. Confirm your address.

Is electricity deregulated in Zapata?

Mostly. ERCOT counts 4,896 competitive Zapata home meters, all on AEP Texas Central's system, against 1,853 households. An address lookup settles it.

Why are some Zapata electric bills so high in winter?

90.4% of Zapata homes heat with electricity (ACS 2020-2024, margin ±5) and 4.0% with utility gas; 31.3% 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 Zapata?

78076 (4,896 Zapata homes on the competitive market). Across the full ZIP: 1.14 meters per household, 4,899 home meters in all.

Who handles Zapata power outages?

Outages go to AEP Texas Central (aeptexas.com/outages), the wires utility for 4,896 Zapata competitive homes.

How do I set up power at a new Zapata home?

Check the address is on AEP Texas Central's wires, choose a plan and a start date. Zapata had 3,241 idle home meters (inactive or de-energized) on Oct. 5, 2026, so many move-ins reconnect an existing meter.

Near Zapata

Wires and county: AEP Texas Central · Zapata. Nearby pages: Escobares (39 mi) · Hebbronville (46 mi) · Laredo (48 mi) · Rio Bravo (35 mi) · Rio Grande City (45 mi) · Roma (37 mi)

No-choice areas · Methodology · Compare plans

Sources

BJW Ventures LLC d/b/a Power Hopper | PUCT BR260201. PUCT registration is not an endorsement.