Commercial electricity across Texas
Texas runs the largest competitive retail electricity market in the country. It also runs several territories where competition does not exist at all, and knowing which you are in is the first step in any procurement.
- Deregulated utilities
- CenterPoint, Oncor, AEP Texas, TNMP
- No retail choice
- Municipals, most co-ops, Entergy Texas
- Providers we shop
- 25+ retail electric providers
- Our depth
- The Houston metro
Texas opened its retail electricity market to competition in 2002, and roughly 85% of the state's load now sits in territories where a business can choose its supplier. The remaining 15% cannot, and it is not marked on any map a sales team is likely to show you.
The utility decides more than people expect
In a deregulated territory you choose your retail electric provider. You never choose your transmission and distribution utility — that is set by geography:
| Utility | Principal territory | Retail choice |
|---|---|---|
| CenterPoint Energy | Houston metro and the Gulf Coast | Yes |
| Oncor | Dallas–Fort Worth, much of north and west Texas | Yes |
| AEP Texas | Corpus Christi, the Rio Grande Valley, south and west Texas | Yes |
| Texas–New Mexico Power | Scattered territories including parts of the Gulf Coast | Yes |
| Entergy Texas | Southeast Texas including Conroe and Beaumont | No — regulated |
| Austin Energy, CPS Energy | Austin and San Antonio | No — municipal |
Delivery charges are set per utility and passed through identically by every supplier. So two identical businesses on the same supply rate in Houston and Dallas will still have different bills, and comparing an all-in price across territories tells you very little.
Why location moves the supply price too
ERCOT settles wholesale prices at specific locations rather than statewide. Transmission congestion means power can be worth substantially more in one zone than another at the same moment — a wind-heavy west Texas afternoon and a still Houston evening are different markets. Suppliers price against those zones, so the same company quotes different numbers in different cities on the same day.
Multi-city portfolios
A business with locations across Texas can hold one supplier agreement covering meters in several utility territories, with a single point of contact, aligned end dates and consolidated billing. Delivery charges still differ site by site because they are regulated per utility — but the supply half, the administration and the renewal calendar all consolidate.
Sites in Austin, San Antonio, co-op territory or Entergy Texas simply sit outside the contract. There is no competitive supply to buy there, and a proposal that quietly includes them is a proposal that cannot be delivered. How we run portfolio accounts.
Where we are strongest
We work the Houston metro deliberately and in depth — one utility, one set of territory boundaries, one local economy. For a Texas-wide portfolio anchored in Houston, that depth is an advantage. For a business whose load is entirely in the Permian Basin, a broker embedded in that market may serve you better, and we will say so.
Statewide commercial questions
Which parts of Texas have commercial retail choice?
Does my rate differ depending on which Texas city I am in?
Can one contract cover locations in different Texas cities?
Do you work statewide?
Anchor the portfolio in Houston and work outward
We read what you are on now, take it to the providers we hold agreements with, and tell you whether it is worth moving. If it is not, we say so.