Texas TDU Delivery Charges, Fully Explained
By the TexasPowerCost Editorial Team — independent Texas electricity analysis · Last reviewed October 18, 2026 · how we analyze plans
Last updated: October 18, 2026 · 8 min read
A TDU delivery charge is the regulated fee — set by your Transmission and Distribution Utility (Oncor, CenterPoint Energy, AEP Texas, or TNMP) and approved by the Public Utility Commission of Texas — for physically delivering electricity over the poles, wires, and meter to your home. It is identical for every retail provider in your area, and it makes up roughly 30% to 40% of a typical Texas electricity bill. Most Texans pay it without ever understanding what it is, whose money it actually is, or why their REP can't change it. Here's the whole story in plain English.
The short answer
Your TDU delivery charge has two parts: a fixed monthly customer charge of about $3.24 to $7.85, plus a per-kWh delivery rate of roughly 5.0¢ to 6.5¢, depending on which TDU serves your address. At 1,000 kWh of usage, per the PUCT's official residential rate summary for August 2026, the all-in delivery charge works out to roughly CenterPoint ~$54.71, AEP Texas North ~$58.55, AEP Texas Central ~$60.14, Oncor ~$64.36, and TNMP ~$72.52 per month. These charges are identical regardless of which REP you choose, and they update on March 1 and September 1.
Want the numbers side by side? See Oncor vs CenterPoint vs AEP vs TNMP — TDU charges compared for a full cost table and a worked example of how much your TDU territory adds at identical usage. New to shopping? The Texas electricity shopping FAQ answers the most common plan and billing questions in plain English.
Who Are the Four Texas TDUs?
Four investor-owned TDUs serve the deregulated portions of Texas. Each is a regulated monopoly in its territory — you cannot pick your TDU; it's determined entirely by where your meter sits. The four are Oncor, CenterPoint Energy, AEP Texas (split into Central and North divisions), and TNMP (Texas-New Mexico Power).
| TDU | Service Area | Customers | Outage Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oncor | Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Plano, Midland | 3.9 million | 888-313-4747 |
| CenterPoint Energy | Houston, Galveston, Katy, Sugar Land | 2.8 million | 800-332-7143 |
| AEP Texas Central | Corpus Christi, McAllen, Laredo, Victoria | 800,000 | 866-223-8508 |
| AEP Texas North | Abilene, San Angelo, Vernon | 300,000 | 866-223-8508 |
| TNMP | League City, Texas City, Lewisville, parts of West Texas | 270,000 | 888-866-7456 |
Smart move
Put your TDU's outage number into your phone before the next storm rolls through. When Hurricane Beryl knocked out 2 million CenterPoint customers in July 2024, getting through to outage reporting was the difference between a 2-day restoration and a 7-day restoration. Your REP cannot help here.
How Is the TDU Charge Calculated?
Two pieces. First, a fixed monthly customer charge — a flat dollar amount every billing cycle, regardless of how much you used. Second, a per-kWh delivery rate applied to every kilowatt-hour you consume.
The math: a 1,200 kWh month in Houston
- CenterPoint customer charge: $4.90
- Delivery (including TCRF/EECRF riders): 1,200 kWh × 5.0¢ = $60.00
- TDU subtotal: ~$64.90
That's the delivery portion every Houston household pays — identical whether your REP is TXU, Reliant, Champion, or Gexa.
Some plans show this as a separate line on your bill. Others fold it into a single "all-inclusive" per-kWh rate on the EFL. The PUCT requires the EFL to disclose which approach the plan uses, but it's easy to miss. Two plans with the same headline rate can produce different bills if one is "energy-only" and the other is "all-inclusive."
Why Do TDU Charges Change Twice a Year?
The PUCT reviews and approves TDU tariff adjustments twice a year, with updated rates generally taking effect on March 1 and September 1 — covering base distribution rates and riders such as the Transmission Cost Recovery Factor (TCRF) and Energy Efficiency Cost Recovery Factor (EECRF). Each routine change is usually a fraction of a cent per kWh, but they accumulate over time. This is why your bill can creep up year over year even when your fixed-rate REP plan has the same energy charge.
Bigger rate cases — where a TDU asks the PUCT for substantial increases to recover infrastructure investment — happen less often. Oncor, CenterPoint, AEP Texas, and TNMP have all filed multi-year rate cases in recent years to recover post-Uri grid hardening spending and Hurricane Beryl rebuild costs.
Why Are TDU Charges Different in Different Parts of Texas?
Grid economics. Each TDU operates a different physical grid, and the cost per customer depends on how many meters share each substation, feeder, and transformer.
Oncor and CenterPoint serve dense urban areas where infrastructure cost is amortized across millions of meters per square mile. AEP Texas and TNMP serve large rural territories where distribution lines stretch for miles to reach a handful of customers. The result is that a household in Plano typically pays a lower per-kWh delivery rate than a household in Corpus Christi — even when the retail energy rate is identical.
A Texas example
Two identical 3-bedroom houses, both pulling 1,400 kWh a month, both on the same Reliant fixed-rate plan. House A is in Frisco (Oncor). House B is in Robstown (AEP Texas Central). Same REP, same plan, same usage. House B's bill is roughly $11 to $18 higher each month — all of it in the TDU delivery layer. Across a year, that's $130 to $215 the homeowner can't do anything about except move.
What Happens to Your TDU Charges When You Switch REPs?
Nothing changes. The same delivery rate keeps flowing through, just under a new REP's billing system. The switch happens electronically through ERCOT's official switch protocol — no truck rolls, no service interruption, no equipment changes.
This is also why outage response is unaffected by which REP you use. The TDU dispatches crews, sets restoration priority, and runs the outage map. The REP has no operational role in the physical grid.
How Do TDU Charges Show Up on Your Bill?
A typical Texas bill lists three or four lines in the TDU section. The customer charge is the fixed monthly amount. The delivery charge is the variable per-kWh rate. A "Transmission Cost Recovery Factor" (TCRF) captures the cost of high-voltage transmission. A small "Energy Efficiency Cost Recovery Factor" funds utility-run efficiency programs you might benefit from indirectly (insulation rebates, smart thermostat programs).
Texas state sales tax of 6.25% applies to electricity, plus local sales tax of up to 2% in many cities. Some jurisdictions add a small franchise fee that pays the city for the utility's right to use street rights-of-way. Tax is calculated on the combined energy charge plus TDU charges. How to read your Texas electricity bill, line by line walks every line individually.
The Texas-Specific Bottom Line
TDU delivery charges are the unavoidable layer on any Texas electricity bill — about a third to 40% of the total. They differ by TDU, change on March 1 and September 1, and pass through every REP identically. Because the TDU portion is fixed by ZIP code, comparing REPs fairly means comparing only the energy-charge layer on top of that fixed delivery cost. The TexasPowerCost.com search tool handles this normalization automatically.
See your real all-in delivered cost
Our calculator pulls current TDU charges for your ZIP and combines them with each REP's energy rate — so you see the bill, not the marketing number.
Calculate My Real Bill →Common Questions Texans Ask
What exactly is a TDU delivery charge?
A TDU delivery charge is the fee your transmission and distribution utility — Oncor, CenterPoint, AEP Texas, or TNMP — collects for moving electricity over poles, wires, and your meter. It has two parts: a fixed monthly customer charge and a per-kWh delivery rate. The PUCT regulates it, and every retail electric provider passes it through unchanged.
Why does my Texas bill list two different companies?
Because Texas split retail electricity from delivery in 2002. Your retail electric provider (REP) sells the plan and sends the bill. Your TDU owns the poles, wires, and meter and is the company that maintains the grid. The bill shows both, but only the REP collects payment.
How often do TDU charges change?
Twice a year, on March 1 and September 1, when the PUCT approves updated tariffs. Routine adjustments are usually a tenth of a cent per kWh in either direction. Larger rate cases — where a TDU asks for a big increase to recover infrastructure investment — happen less frequently and require formal PUCT proceedings; Oncor's most recent one raised its delivery charge by about $4.64/month for a 1,000 kWh home effective June 1, 2026.
Can I switch TDUs in Texas?
No. Your TDU is determined by your physical address and is a regulated monopoly in its territory. Switching retail providers does not change which TDU delivers your power. The only way to change TDUs is to move.
Who do I call when my power goes out?
Your TDU, never your REP. Save these numbers: Oncor 888-313-4747, CenterPoint Energy 800-332-7143, AEP Texas 866-223-8508, TNMP 888-866-7456. They're also printed on every bill. Calling your REP during an outage wastes time — REPs don't own a single power line.
Why are TDU charges higher in some parts of Texas?
Grid economics. Dense urban TDUs like Oncor (Dallas–Fort Worth) and CenterPoint (Houston) spread infrastructure cost across millions of meters. Rural TDUs like AEP Texas and TNMP serve long distribution lines with fewer customers per mile, so per-kWh delivery costs run higher.
Are TDU charges the same whether I pick a cheap REP or an expensive one?
Yes, identical. The TDU rate is a regulated pass-through. Two households at the same address on different REPs pay the exact same TDU portion of their bill. This is why comparing REPs really means comparing the energy-charge layer on top of a fixed delivery charge.
What if my TDU damages my property during a repair?
TDUs carry liability insurance for damage caused by their operations. Claims go through the TDU directly, not through your REP. Document the damage with photos, file the claim within the TDU's posted window, and escalate to the PUCT consumer complaint process if you don't get a fair response.
Your Next Move
Run a search on the homepage with your ZIP — the tool identifies your TDU, reports its delivery charge alongside the results, and ranks every plan on the energy-supply cost that actually differs between providers. To see how city-by-city rates vary because of the TDU layer, read cheapest electricity in Texas — city by city. To understand how TDU charges combine with REP plans into your final bill, see how to read your Texas electricity bill. For the full picture of how the market produces these rates, read how the Texas electricity market works.