How to Compare Texas Electricity Plans by Usage
By the TexasPowerCost Editorial Team — independent Texas electricity analysis · Last reviewed October 18, 2026 · how we analyze plans
Last updated: October 18, 2026 · 7 min read
Short answer
To compare Texas electricity plans by usage, get your actual monthly kWh from your bills, then rank plans by what each costs at your usage instead of at the advertised rate. Every Texas Electricity Facts Label publishes an average price at exactly three usage points — 500, 1,000 and 2,000 kWh — and the advertised figure is the 1,000 kWh one. Your real usage almost never lands on a published point, so you interpolate between the two nearest points to get the rate that actually applies, multiply by your kWh, and sort by monthly dollars rather than cents per kWh. Do that and the order changes: the plan that wins the advertised sort is frequently not the plan that is cheapest for you.
Why this matters: the ranking changes with usage
This is measurable, not theoretical. Across the 291 standard fixed-rate plans filed in Texas right now (data synced October 18, 2026), the cheapest plan at 600 kWh and the cheapest at 2,000 kWh are two different plans:
| Your usage | Cheapest plan at that usage | Effective rate | Energy cost / month |
|---|---|---|---|
| 600 kWh | SOUTHERN FEDERAL POWER LLC — SoFed Try Us Out - 3 | 9.9¢ | $59.40 |
| 2,000 kWh | AP GAS & ELECTRIC (TX) LLC — Bonus Saver 3 | 8.5¢ | $170.00 |
Comparing without accounting for usage costs a 2,000 kWh home about $74.00 a month — roughly $888 a year — for identical electricity.
Standard fixed-rate plans only; variable and time-of-use structures are excluded because their EFL averages assume a usage shape a flat profile does not have. Energy supply only. Computed from filed EFL price points via Real-Rate Interpolation.
The three numbers every Texas plan must publish
Texas does something most states do not: it forces every retail provider to publish a standardised Electricity Facts Label showing the average price per kWh at 500 kWh, 1,000 kWh and 2,000 kWh. That is genuinely useful disclosure. The problem is what the market did with it.
Because Power to Choose sorts on the middle number, the 1,000 kWh average became the advertised rate everywhere — and providers began designing plans to win that one number. Bill credits, minimum-usage fees and base charges are all folded into that average, so a credit that triggers at 1,000 kWh drags the 1,000 kWh figure down dramatically while doing nothing for a home at 900 or 1,600 kWh. The published number is honest; the way it is used is not. We call the result the 1,000 kWh illusion.
The tell to look for
Read all three EFL numbers side by side. A plan that reads roughly flat — say 13.5¢ / 13.5¢ / 13.5¢ — is predictable at any usage. A plan that reads 16.0¢ / 12.0¢ / 14.0¢ forms a "V" that dips only at the 1,000 kWh marker. That V is the fingerprint of a plan built for the sort rather than for your bill.
How to compare, step by step
- Collect twelve months of actual kWh. Take the "kWh used" figure from each of the last twelve bills. Write down your highest month and your lowest month specifically — those two numbers matter more than the average.
- Ignore the advertised rate entirely. The headline cents-per-kWh figure is the EFL average at exactly 1,000 kWh. Treat it as a marketing label, not a price, until you have checked the plan at your own usage.
- Read all three EFL price points, not one. Every Electricity Facts Label publishes an average price at 500, 1,000 and 2,000 kWh. Read all three together. A flat line across them is a predictable plan; a V that dips only at 1,000 kWh is a plan engineered for the sort.
- Interpolate to your real usage. If you use 1,400 kWh, your rate sits between the 1,000 and 2,000 kWh points. Move proportionally between the two nearest published points to get the rate that actually applies to you, then multiply by your kWh for the monthly energy cost.
- Rank on dollars per month, not cents per kWh. Convert every plan to a monthly dollar figure at your usage and sort by that. Cents-per-kWh comparisons hide base charges and credits; dollars do not.
- Check the plan at your peak and trough month. Re-run the comparison at your highest and lowest realistic month. A plan is only a good deal if it stays competitive across your whole seasonal range, not just at your average.
- Add TDU delivery last, and only to estimate the bill. Delivery charges are identical across providers in your area, so they never change the ranking. Add them at the end to estimate your final bill, not to choose between plans.
Worked example: interpolating to your real usage
Say your bills average 1,400 kWh a month and a plan's EFL reads 16.0¢ at 500 kWh, 12.0¢ at 1,000 kWh and 14.0¢ at 2,000 kWh. Your usage sits between the 1,000 and 2,000 kWh points, 40% of the way up. So your rate is:
12.0¢ + (0.40 × (14.0¢ − 12.0¢)) = 12.8¢ per kWh
1,400 kWh × 12.8¢ = $179.20 per month for energy
Not the advertised 12.0¢, and not the 14.0¢ at the top tier either — 12.8¢, the rate that actually applies to you. Do the same arithmetic for every plan on your list and sort by the dollar figure. That is the whole method, and it is what this site's engine does automatically for every plan filed in your ZIP. The full derivation is in our methodology.
Three mistakes that make usage comparison go wrong
Comparing cents instead of dollars. Two plans at "11.9¢" can produce bills $25 apart once base charges and credits land. Convert everything to monthly dollars before you compare.
Using your yearly average as your only test. A Texas home swinging between 850 kWh in January and 1,800 kWh in August averages about 1,300 kWh — a usage level it may never actually have in any single month. Test the peak and the trough.
Letting delivery charges confuse the ranking. TDU delivery is regulated, identical for every provider in your area, and decided by where your meter sits — about $54.71 a month on CenterPoint, $64.36 on Oncor and $72.52 on TNMP at 1,000 kWh. It matters enormously to your total bill and not at all to which plan is cheapest. Compare energy supply, then add delivery.
Let the math run itself
Enter your ZIP and your real usage. We interpolate every plan filed at your address to your actual kWh and rank them by what you would genuinely pay.
Compare Plans at My Usage →Compare by home size
If you would rather start from a usage band than a number, these pages re-rank every plan in a city at a fixed usage level:
- Houston — small home / apartment (~600 kWh) · Houston — large home (~2,000 kWh)
- Dallas — small home (~600 kWh) · Dallas — large home (~2,000 kWh)
- Fort Worth — large home · Corpus Christi — large home
Not your city? Browse the full city directory.
Common questions
How do I compare Texas electricity plans by usage?
Pull your actual monthly kWh from twelve months of bills, note your highest and lowest month, then rank plans by what each one costs at YOUR usage rather than at the advertised 1,000 kWh. Every Texas Electricity Facts Label publishes an average price at exactly three usage points — 500, 1,000 and 2,000 kWh. Your real usage almost always falls between them, so you interpolate between the two nearest points to get your true rate, multiply by your kWh, and compare the resulting monthly dollar figures. Ranking on dollars at your usage, not cents at the benchmark, is the entire method.
Why does the advertised rate only apply at one usage level?
Because Texas requires every plan to publish an average price per kWh at 500, 1,000 and 2,000 kWh, and the market advertises the 1,000 kWh figure because that is the default sort on Power to Choose. That average bundles in base charges, minimum-usage fees and bill credits, all of which change as your usage changes. A $100 credit that triggers at 1,000 kWh makes the 1,000 kWh average look excellent and does nothing for you at 900 kWh. So the advertised number is accurate at exactly one usage level and misleading everywhere else.
What if my usage changes a lot between summer and winter?
That is normal in Texas and it is exactly why a single-number comparison fails. A Houston home can use 1,800 kWh in August and 850 kWh in January. Compare each plan at both your peak and your trough month, not just your average, because a bill-credit plan tuned for 1,000 kWh can put you on the wrong side of the threshold in both directions. Ranking by average monthly cost across a full twelve-month usage profile is more reliable than ranking on any single month.
Do I need to include TDU delivery charges when comparing plans?
You need them to predict your total bill, but not to decide which plan is cheapest. Your TDU delivery charge is set by regulators, determined entirely by where your meter sits, and identical for every retail provider in your area — roughly $54.71 a month on CenterPoint, $64.36 on Oncor and $72.52 on TNMP at 1,000 kWh. Because it is the same constant added to every plan, it never changes the ranking. Compare plans on energy supply, then add delivery to estimate the final bill.
Where do I find my actual kWh usage?
It is printed on every electricity bill, usually near the meter reading as "kWh used" for the billing period. Most Texas providers also show twelve months of usage history in their online account portal, and Smart Meter Texas holds interval data for any home with a smart meter. Twelve months is ideal because it captures both your summer peak and your winter trough.
Keep reading
The 1,000 kWh illusion explains why the advertised rate is gamed, with a worked example and live proof from today's filed plans. How to read a Texas EFL walks the label line by line. Best plans for high-usage homes applies this method at 2,000 kWh and up, and why your bill is higher than the advertised rate covers what else lands on the bill. Our methodology documents the interpolation itself.