Why your electricity bill went up

If you live in Texas's competitive electricity market, your bill includes a line labeled "The average price you paid for electric service this month." That figure reflects the recurring cost of your electricity for the month, divided by the kilowatt-hours you used. It is calculated on the same basis as the average price shown on your Electricity Facts Label, the one-page disclosure that came with your plan, so compare it with the label column closest to your own usage.

If that figure is close to last month's but the total bill is higher, you probably used more electricity. If your usage is similar but the average price increased, the price is what changed. Those are different problems with different answers.

Check the dates as well. Your bill has to state the service period it covers. Where your retailer has the meter readings, it has to print the previous and current reads with the dates they were taken. Billing periods are not all the same length: Oncor's meter reading schedule runs from 29 to 33 days. At the same daily usage a 33-day period costs more than a 29-day one, and a long period can follow a short one.

Electricity use in Texas changes sharply with the seasons. Residential electricity sales across the state in August 2024 were roughly double what they were in April, while the number of residential accounts barely changed.

Even with the thermostat set to the same temperature, an air conditioner runs longer during hotter weather. That can raise electricity use even when nothing inside the home has changed. Compare this bill with the same month a year ago rather than with last month. That gives you a more useful seasonal comparison. If the figure is higher than a year ago as well, either the weather was more severe or something in the house changed.

Changes inside the home can raise usage too. More time spent at home, a new electric appliance, or equipment running longer than usual can all increase the number of kilowatt-hours on the bill.

Not every part of your bill is controlled by your retail electricity provider. Part of it is delivery: the poles, wires and meter belonging to the delivery utility that serves your address. You do not choose that utility, and you do not switch it when you change the retailer who sells you the plan. In the competitive market those rates are approved by the Public Utility Commission of Texas, and they change on their own schedule regardless of your contract. If a city-owned utility or a cooperative bills you instead, its rates are set by that utility and there is no retailer to change.

That is why your total bill can change even when your retail energy rate does not. Texas rules allow certain charges outside the retailer's control to change during a fixed-rate contract. These can include changes in TDU delivery charges, administrative fees charged by ERCOT or the Texas Regional Entity, and new or changed fees imposed by law.

Your Electricity Facts Label tells you whether your plan allows those changes. Every label in Texas carries a row headed "Can my price change during contract period?" Directly under it is a second row: "If my price can change, how will it change, and by how much?" A change your label permits can appear on a bill with no advance notice.

A fixed monthly base charge has a bigger effect on the effective price per kilowatt-hour in low-usage months than in high-usage months. A minimum-usage fee appears only in the months you fall below a stated level, so it arrives in the months your bill was already low.

If your bill jumped in a month when you know you used less electricity, that is one of the first things to check on your Electricity Facts Label. Your label prints an average price at 500, 1,000 and 2,000 kilowatt-hours rather than one figure, and the effective price per kilowatt-hour can differ at each usage level.

A fixed-rate contract has an end date, and if you do nothing your service continues on a default month-to-month product. You can leave that product at any time without a fee, but its price can change from one billing cycle to the next. That is different from a fixed-rate product, where price changes are limited to the specified costs described above. If your usage and other charges look normal, check whether the higher bill is the first one after your fixed-rate contract ended.

Your retailer has to print the expiration date of a fixed-rate product on every bill, in bold and underlined. They also have to send at least three written notices before the term ends, and on a residential contract longer than four months the last of those comes at least 30 days ahead.

You can ask your retailer for an itemized breakdown of the charges, and they have to give you one. If you think the meter reading itself is wrong, you can ask your delivery utility to test the meter at no charge. A repeat test within four years can carry a fee, but only if the meter turns out to be accurate.

If you raise a complaint with your retailer, they have 21 days to investigate and tell you the result. The PUCT recommends contacting your provider first. If the issue is not resolved, you can then bring the complaint to the commission.