How the Texas electricity market works
Most of Texas splits a job that one company does in most of the country across four different kinds of organisation. Knowing which is which explains almost every confusing thing about a Texas electricity bill.
The four roles
Generators build and run the power plants and wind and solar farms. You do not choose them and they do not bill you.
The grid operator keeps supply and demand balanced across the system, second by second. In most of Texas that is ERCOT, which is why the state's grid is discussed as its own thing rather than as part of a national one.
Delivery utilities own the poles, wires and meters and physically deliver power to your address. You do not choose yours — it is set by where you live — and you cannot switch away from it.
Retail electric providers buy energy and sell it to you. This is the only one you choose, and it is the entire subject of this site.
Who regulates what
The Public Utility Commission of Texas certifies retail providers, registers brokers, approves the delivery rates your utility charges, and sets the customer protection rules that produce the Electricity Facts Label and Your Rights as a Customer.
Retail energy prices themselves are not set by the regulator. They are set by competition, which is the whole premise of the arrangement — and it is why an advertised rate is a marketing decision rather than a published tariff, and why comparing them properly matters.
Where the market does not reach
Not all of Texas has retail choice. Several large cities own their own utilities — Austin, San Antonio and El Paso among them — and their residents buy electricity from the city rather than choosing a provider. Denton, Garland and Brownsville are smaller examples of the same thing.
Outside the cities, much of rural Texas is served by electric cooperatives, which are member-owned and generally do not participate in retail choice either.
So "can I shop" is a question about your specific address, not about the state. That is why every quote on this site starts with a ZIP code, and why a city name is never enough.
The one role in this market you choose
Of the organisations described above, only the retailer is yours to pick.
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