Texas Electric Utilities
Texas electric customers have benefited from living in a deregulated energy market since 2002. Residing in a deregulated area gives Texans the power to choose the best electricity company for their lifestyle and financial needs. While customers can choose which Retail Electric Provider, electric plan, and electric rate that they want to use, the state still determines which Transmission and Delivery Service Provider (TDSP) or Transmission and Distribution Utility (TDU) actually transmits and delivers electricity to every customer’s home. There are only a handful of electric utility companies in Texas and each service a unique region. Learn about the different Texas electric utility companies and see which one services your area below.
Utilities Serving Texas’ Deregulated Energy Market
Electric utility companies are responsible for transmitting, connecting and disconnecting electricity, owning and maintaining power lines, reading electric meters, and addressing power outages. Customers should contact their public utility, not their retail energy providers, for help on these matters. The five Texas utility companies servicing deregulated energy markets are AEP Texas, CenterPoint Energy, Oncor Electricity, Sharyland Utilities, and Texas-New Mexico Power. Read more about each public utility company below.
American Electric Power (AEP) is one of the largest electric utilities in the country, owns the nation’s largest generators of electricity and has provided electricity to residents in 11 states, such as Texas, Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky, since 1997. They service 1 million Texas customers in areas that extend from the U.S.-Mexico border to the Texas-Oklahoma border through their two subsidiaries, AEP Texas Central and AEP Texas North, from their Corpus Christi headquarters. AEP North delivers electricity to areas in North and West Texas, such as Alpine, Abilene, and San Angelo. AEP Central on the other hand serves areas in South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley such as Corpus Christi, Laredo, Victoria, and McAllen.
CenterPoint Energy is a Fortune 500 Energy public utility that was founded in 1882. CenterPoint Energy is headquartered in Houston and services over 5 million customers in the surrounding Houston area with electricity, natural gas, and maintenance in regard to wires, poles and electric infrastructure. Outside of the Texas deregulated energy market, CenterPoint Energy is known for providing natural gas to Arkansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, and Oklahoma.
Oncor Electricity Delivery is notably the largest Transmission and Distribution Service Provider (TDSP) in Texas and has provided electricity to over 10 million customers in more than 400 Texas communities from their Dallas headquarters since 2001. This massive public utility company maintains over 130,000 miles of electrical distribution lines in the state of Texas. Some of the major Texas cities that Oncor Electricity services are Dallas, Fort Worth, Odessa, Killeen, Midland, Waco, Tyler and Wichita Falls.
Sharyland Utilities, which is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, transitioned all 50,000 of their energy customers to Oncor Electricity when it was acquired from Hunt Utility Services. This transition impacted the cities of Midland, Big Spring, Stanton, Brady, Celeste, McAllen, and Greenville, ultimately offering customers more competitive rates. While Sharyland Utilities no longer acts within the retail electricity delivery market, it still serves as a transmission entity.
Texas New Mexico Power delivers electricity to over 230,000 homes and businesses in the far west, north central, and Gulf Coast regions. This includes the rural areas surrounding the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex such as Lewisville, Gatesville, Bryson, and Farmersville, the Gulf Coast areas that are south of Houston such as Friendswood, Texas City, and Angleton, and West Texas areas such as Fort Stockton and Pecos. The public utility company also maintains and reads electric meters, and constructs and maintains power lines within their service regions.
Save Money In Texas’ Deregulated Energy Market Today!
Texas residents rely on both their utility company and electric supplier to power their homes and provide excellent customer service every day. Remember to contact your public utility company, not your electric provider, if you need to report an outage caused by downed power lines, severe weather, broken poles, or other issues. While you cannot choose which public utility company services your area, you do have the ability to choose between a variety of electric companies to find the best energy plan and lowest electric rate possible for your home. Take advantage of Texas’ deregulated electricity markets and save on your energy bill today!
