First Texas Home: Compare Power Plans Before Move-In
Moving into a Texas house or apartment comes with a checklist that feels endless: deposits, keys, internet, trash day. Electricity often gets shoved to the last 48 hours. In deregulated Texas, that timing mistake is expensive. You are not calling a single monopoly utility to "turn on the lights." You are shopping a retail market, and the first plan you sign becomes the price of every kilowatt-hour (kWh) your air conditioner burns through summer.
This guide walks through how to compare plans before move-in—what the market structure means for your bill, how to use official shopping tools without getting fooled by a headline rate, and how to enroll so service starts when the moving truck does. The focus is Texas competitive areas, with notes for regulated Texas utilities and other U.S. choice states.
Why the plan you pick before move-in sets your first-year bill
In competitive parts of Texas, retail choice has been the rule since deregulation rolled out in 2002, and the state's official comparison portal, ¹, exists specifically so customers can compare offers and pick a plan that fits (¹; ²). That only helps if you shop with a usage estimate and read the fine print before you need same-week service.
Price context matters. For 2024, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported Texas residential electricity at ³, below the U.S. residential average of ⁴. Nationally, the typical residential bill was about ⁴, with average use around ⁴. Texas summers push many homes well above that national usage figure—so a plan that looks cheap at a low-usage advertising point can get expensive fast once the thermostat drops to 72°F in August.
Federal consumer-protection work on retail electricity has long stressed the same point: competition works when people can ⁵, not when they grab the first teaser rate they see. Before move-in is when you still have time to do that comparison calmly.
How the Texas market actually works: REP, TDU, and ERCOT
Three different entities touch your power, and confusing them is the most common newcomer mistake.
ERCOT (the Electric Reliability Council of Texas) operates the bulk power system for most of the state. It ⁶—and ⁶. ERCOT is the grid and market operator, not your retail bill brand.
The TDU (transmission and distribution utility)—companies such as Oncor in much of North Texas—owns the poles, wires, and meters. Oncor notes that ⁷, and that ⁷. Delivery charges from the TDU show up on your bill whether you picked Provider A or Provider B.
The REP (retail electric provider) is who you shop. The REP buys power in the competitive market and sells you a plan: fixed, variable, prepaid, renewable-heavy, free nights, and so on. Oncor's own guidance is blunt: because Texas is a deregulated market, ⁷.
If your ZIP code is served by a municipal utility or electric cooperative, you may not have retail choice at all. Power to Choose itself warns that some ZIP codes return no competitive plans because ¹. In that case, you contact the local utility for rates and connection—not a REP catalog.
Start on Power to Choose — then verify every shortlist with the EFL
¹ is the Public Utility Commission of Texas's official, unbiased listing site: providers can list offers for free, and you compare plans by ZIP code (¹). The commission created the portal in ².
That does not mean the cheapest-looking row is the cheapest bill. Regulators and reporters have documented years of "game playing" on advertised cents-per-kWh figures—including ⁸ and plans with ². The PUC later required clearer up-front pricing at ² precisely because a single 1,000 kWh sticker price hid the truth for many homes.
Practical shopping sequence for a move-in:
- Enter the new home's ZIP (and select the correct TDU if the tool asks).
- Set estimated monthly usage to a realistic number for that home—not whatever default the page shows.
- Filter by contract length, fixed vs. other product types, and renewable content if that matters to you.
- Shortlist three to five plans, then open each Electricity Facts Label before you enroll.
Independent explainers make the same warning in plain language: ⁹; treat the EFL as the source of truth (⁹).
Read the Electricity Facts Label like a nutrition label
Texas law requires standardized disclosures. Under Public Utility Commission rule §25.475, a customer's contract includes the ¹⁰, and those documents ¹⁰. The EFL must state whether the product is ¹⁰, and for residential customers it must show ¹⁰.
That three-column price chart is your decision tool. A plan that wins at 2,000 kWh can lose badly at 500 kWh once monthly base charges, minimum-usage fees, or missed bill credits are baked into the average. Consumer guides note that ⁹ and ⁹ are easy to miss if you only read the ad.
The FTC has argued for years that ⁵ help people who have never shopped electricity before. Texas's EFL is that uniform disclosure. Use it. Print or save the PDF for the plan you pick; if a sales chat quote disagrees with the EFL, trust the EFL.
Also know what "fixed" legally means in Texas. Under §25.475, a fixed-rate product has a term of ¹⁰ and a price that stays the same through the term except for ¹⁰. Your energy rate can be fixed while the delivery portion still moves when the TDU's tariffs change. That is normal—not a bait-and-switch by itself.
Fixed, variable, prepaid, and time-based plans: pick the product, not the slogan
Fixed-rate term plans are the usual move-in choice for households that want predictable energy pricing through the first summer and winter. Match the term to how long you expect to stay. A 36-month teaser is a poor fit for a one-year lease if an early exit fee applies.
Variable and month-to-month products can make sense if you need flexibility, but residential variable products in Texas are tightly defined: under §25.475, a variable-price product for residential customers ¹⁰, and month-to-month contracts ¹⁰. Prices can move; you are trading certainty for optionality.
Prepaid plans remove some credit hurdles and long commitments, but they demand active balance management. Read the Prepaid Disclosure Statement along with the EFL when one applies (¹⁰).
Time-of-use or free-nights-style plans only pay off if your lifestyle matches the discount window. The U.S. Department of Energy notes that time-variable pricing includes ¹¹ and more dynamic products tied to wholesale markets. Energy Saver guidance likewise points out that ¹² is how customers actually capture those rates. If everyone in the house runs the dryer at 5 p.m., a "free nights" ad is marketing, not math.
Indexed wholesale products are largely off the table for new residential shoppers: Texas rules ¹⁰ after the dates set in §25.475. If a pitch sounds like a direct pass-through of real-time grid prices to your living room, walk away and re-read the EFL product type.
Estimate usage when you have no history at the new address
New construction and first-time Texas renters share a problem: no 12-month bill history at the new meter. You still should not shop blind at a single default kWh.
Start with public benchmarks, then adjust. EIA data puts U.S. residential use near ⁴. A former PUC chair told the Texas Tribune the ². All-electric homes, big square footage, poor insulation, work-from-home setups, pools, and EV chargers push you toward the 2,000 kWh EFL column in summer. Small, efficient apartments may live closer to 500–800 kWh much of the year.
If the seller, landlord, or previous occupant can share recent kWh totals, use them. Oncor points customers to ⁷ once a meter is associated with an account—useful after you move in, and sometimes available historically depending on access. Until then, shop the EFL at two usage levels that bracket your guess (for example, 1,000 and 2,000 kWh) and prefer plans that do not punish you badly if you land in either band (¹³).
DOE's rate-evaluation advice for larger sites translates cleanly to households: ¹¹—not against a brochure.
Move-in logistics: ESI ID, start dates, deposits, and relocation rules
Your meter has a unique ESI ID (electric service identifier), a ⁷. You can usually find it on a prior bill or look it up by address through the TDU's tools (⁷). Have the address, ZIP, and ESI ID ready when you enroll with a REP so the switch request routes to the right premise.
Ask about the earliest start date and any priority or same-day connection fees. Moving weekends fill up; shopping two weeks out is calmer than shopping from the driveway. Confirm whether a deposit is required, how it is billed, and whether autopay or paperless options change the deposit rules—those details live in the Terms of Service, not the ad tile.
Texas relocation rules are friendlier than many renters expect. Under §25.475, a contract is limited to the ¹⁰. If you move, you are ¹⁰, and the REP ¹⁰ when you provide a forwarding address and, if required, reasonable evidence you no longer occupy the old location. That protection is about leaving a premise—not about canceling for a cheaper plan while you still live there. Early termination fees for switching REPs mid-contract remain real; they are disclosed on the EFL (⁹).
Also calendar the end of the term. Contracts must disclose the ¹⁰ you land on if you do nothing at expiration. Holdover month-to-month rates after a cheap fixed term are a classic way first-year savings evaporate in year two.
After the switch: bills, renewals, and cutting kWh without cutting comfort
Once the REP and TDU complete the switch, your first bills teach you whether your move-in usage guess was right. Compare the billed kWh to the EFL column you used. If you are consistently higher or lower, re-shop at renewal—or sooner if you are on a month-to-month product.
Line items will usually separate energy charges (REP) from delivery charges (TDU) and taxes. DOE materials remind customers that bills mix ¹¹. Residential Texas bills are mostly energy-plus-delivery, but the principle holds: you cannot shop away the wires charge by switching REPs inside the same TDU territory.
Usage reduction still beats rate shopping alone when the house is leaky. Energy Saver guidance emphasizes that understanding when you use power—and cutting always-on loads—supports both lower bills and better use of time-based rates. For a first Texas summer, that often means thermostat discipline, shading, filter changes, and not treating the garage fridge as a free appliance.
If someone in the home depends on electrically powered medical devices, ask the TDU about critical care or chronic condition designations. Oncor notes that ⁷. That process is separate from which REP you choose.
If your ZIP is not competitive: regulated utilities and other choice states
Not every Texas address is a Power to Choose address. Municipal utilities and cooperatives set their own rates and connection steps. If Power to Choose shows no plans for your ZIP, ¹—call the local municipal utility or cooperative named on the property listing and ask for residential connect requirements and the current rate schedule.
Outside Texas, several states offer retail electric choice in at least part of the market. The shopping muscle is the same even when the website brand differs: identify whether supply is competitive, find the official or well-regulated comparison channel, and insist on standardized price disclosures. DOE notes that ¹¹ while delivery stays with the utility. The FTC's advice still applies: ⁵ are what make those markets usable for ordinary households and small businesses.
Shoppers in choice markets outside Texas should still gather 12 months of kWh when possible, compare the full bill (supply + delivery + fees), and be wary of teaser rates that expire into a higher variable product. U.S. average prices vary widely by state—EIA's 2024 residential figures ranged from lower-cost states in the low teens of cents per kWh up to far higher coastal and island markets (³)—so "cheap" is always local.
Bottom line for move-in week
Treat electricity like rent: decide before you need it. Confirm whether the address is competitive. If it is, open ¹, estimate usage honestly, shortlist with the ¹⁰, and enroll with the ESI ID and a start date that matches your keys. If it is not competitive, call the municipal or co-op utility and ask for the residential rate and connect timeline. Either way, the households that win are the ones that compare total cost at real usage—not the ones who grab the lowest teaser on moving day.