How to read an Electricity Facts Label in Texas

An EFL is a standard plan summary from a Texas retail provider, the company that sells your electricity. It belongs with your contract documents, including the Terms of Service, which give fuller details.^⁠[2] This guide covers a regular plan for a home where you can choose your electricity provider.

The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) rule covers homes and small businesses served by retail providers.^⁠[2] City utilities and co-ops can choose whether to join the market where people pick their electricity provider.^⁠[1] Our guide explains where you can choose an electricity supplier.

Keep the label with the rest of your plan paperwork. For the bigger picture, browse our guides to how electricity works.

Start by matching the provider, product, service area, date and printed version. Each product has its own EFL, and each version needs an identification number.^⁠[2] One provider’s name alone won’t identify the right document.

Our reading example is Reliant’s Pure Power 24 EFL for Texas-New Mexico Power (TNMP), dated September 13, 2026. Its printed version is R1F00180021261G, although the linked filename ends in A.^⁠[3] We haven’t verified whether this offer is available now; these figures come from the dated document.

The residential columns show prices at set monthly usage levels: 500, 1,000 and 2,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh), the unit that measures use. They’re comparison points, not household sizes or separate blocks charged at different rates.^⁠[2]

Here, fixed charges spread across more kWh as usage rises, lowering the average price. That doesn’t mean the total charge falls.^⁠[3] Read your actual usage instead of choosing the most appealing column.

For a fixed-rate offer, the average includes recurring charges, including delivery. It excludes state and local sales taxes and reimbursement for the state miscellaneous gross receipts tax.^⁠[2] Don’t add delivery again to that displayed average.

Convert cents to dollars before multiplying by kWh. In this example, add the four charges, divide by usage, then multiply by 100 to return to cents. The result is $187.289 ÷ 1,000 × 100 = 18.7289¢ per kWh, displayed as 18.7¢.^⁠[3]

The energy charge pays for electricity used; delivery pays to move it to your home.^⁠[4] Our guide explains Texas delivery charges. Multiplying the rounded average back out won’t reproduce every decimal in the calculation.^⁠[3]

If your use falls between the printed columns, return to the charge inputs. Use that month’s kWh in the formula, then check any usage conditions separately. A bill credit can change the result when you reach its required usage amount, so the average may not follow a straight line.^⁠[3,1]

A usage credit lowers what you owe only when you meet the plan’s terms. Some plans instead add a fee below a set usage amount; a missed credit and an added fee are different things.^⁠[1] Read the condition before using any headline average.

A separate example is Discount Power’s Bill Credit Bundle 24 EFL. It covers CenterPoint’s area, dated September 30, 2026, printed version M1F00175827204J.^⁠[5] These are different plan terms from the Reliant example.

• At or above 1,000 kWh in a billing cycle, this Discount Power document includes a $125 usage credit.^⁠[5]
• Below 1,000 kWh in that cycle, it gives no usage credit. The test applies each cycle, rather than to yearly average use.^⁠[5]

Use your own monthly history to check whether conditions fit. The official shopping guide says to account for seasonal changes.^⁠[6] A yearly average can hide months that miss a per-cycle threshold.^⁠[5]

Time-of-use plans charge different rates at different hours, so check when you use electricity. Their EFL averages rely on the provider’s assumed split between discounted hours and other hours; your actual split can differ.^⁠[1]

The disclosure chart below the prices lists the contract length and when the price can change. It identifies the product type, term, termination fee, change conditions and other important terms.^⁠[2]

Fixed-rate exceptions include actual delivery-charge changes and specified administrative-fee changes from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) or Texas Regional Entity. These are the grid administrative fees named in the Texas rule. The rule also permits new or changed fees or costs imposed by laws beyond the provider’s control; it doesn’t allow unrestricted price changes.^⁠[2]

Ancillary services are services needed to transmit electricity.^⁠[7] These charges can change the disclosed price only if PUCT explicitly identifies a specific type as beyond the provider’s control for your existing contract.^⁠[2] Usage can still change the total you pay.^⁠[3]

The sample’s moving exception requires a forwarding address and any evidence requested to verify the move.^⁠[3] Read your contract and the notice about when your plan ends.

• For a residential contract with a calendar end date, no termination penalty applies during the 14 days before the notice’s stated expiration date.^⁠[2]
• If your residential contract ends on the first meter read on or after a date, use the notice’s stated “on or after” date. No termination penalty applies during the 14 days before it.^⁠[2]

Compare the label with your past monthly bills, including different seasons. The official guide recommends using past bills and allowing for seasonal patterns.^⁠[6] Keep the actual months visible when checking credits or fees.

Visit the electric bill estimator. Treat it as an estimate, rather than a quote for a particular EFL or a replacement for your own bills.

Want to keep your usage in view while reading a plan’s label? You can either connect your existing utility account or, if you’re moving in, we can set everything up for you. See how your energy use changes over time and spot opportunities to cut back.^⁠[8] For more on supply rates, visit Public Grid’s energy supply page.

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