How deregulation works here
Two companies, two roles.
CenterPoint Energy owns and maintains the poles, wires, and meter. They handle outages and they’re the same for everyone in the Houston service area — you don’t choose them and you can’t switch them.
A retail electricity provider (REP) sells you the electricity. There are dozens competing, and you choose. TXU Energy, Reliant, Gexa, Green Mountain and many others operate here.
Your bill comes from the REP and includes CenterPoint’s delivery charges, which is why two people in the same building can pay very different amounts for the same consumption.
If you’re new to Texas, the thing to internalise is that there is no default utility to call. Nobody will connect you automatically. This is the single most common Houston move-in mistake — the wider move-in list is on moving concierge.
The setup, step by step
- Know your move-in date. Schedule service to start the day before handover so you’re not testing it with a truck outside.
- Have your address and unit number. Including the ESI ID if the property provides one, which speeds things up.
- Compare plans at your realistic usage — not at the advertised tier. This is the step that saves the money.
- Sign up three to five business days ahead. Same-day is sometimes possible and often carries an expedite fee.
- Check for a deposit. Some REPs waive it with a credit check; others take a deposit refundable after a period of on-time payment.
- Note the contract end date. Match it roughly to your lease so you’re not paying an early-termination fee when you move.
The teaser-rate trap
Here’s the mechanism, because it catches nearly everyone.
Comparison sites — including the state’s own Power to Choose, run by the Public Utility Commission of Texas — display plans at fixed usage tiers, commonly 500, 1,000, and 2,000 kWh. Marketing quotes the most flattering one, which is usually 1,000 or 2,000.
A Houston one-bedroom often draws 500–800 kWh outside the peak summer months. If a plan’s structure includes a bill credit that only triggers above 1,000 kWh, or a minimum-usage charge below it, your effective rate at 700 kWh can be double the advertised number.
The document that tells the truth is the Electricity Facts Label, which every REP must publish. It shows the average rate at each usage tier and lists the base charge. Read that, not the ad. Worked examples are in how Power to Choose plans actually price out.
The one number to find
Your realistic monthly kWh, then the plan’s rate at that number. Everything else on a comparison site is decoration.
Fixed or variable
Fixed rate. The energy charge is locked for the contract term. Predictable, and typically carries an early-termination fee if you leave before the end. For a twelve-month lease this is usually the simpler choice.
Variable rate. Moves month to month with the market. Can be cheaper for a while and can move sharply — Texas has seen that happen. Reasonable for a short, flexible stay; a gamble for a year.
Match the contract length to your lease term where you can. A 12-month plan on a 15-month lease means renegotiating at an awkward moment.
Estimating your usage
Rough guidance for Houston, where summer air conditioning dominates the annual profile:
| Unit | Shoulder months | Peak summer |
|---|---|---|
| Studio / small 1BR | 400–600 kWh | 800–1,100 kWh |
| Standard 1BR | 500–800 kWh | 1,000–1,400 kWh |
| 2BR | 700–1,000 kWh | 1,300–1,800 kWh |
Older buildings with less insulation run higher. Units with a lot of west-facing glass run higher. High ceilings — common in loft stock — run higher.
Don’t forget the other move-in items
Renters insurance is required by most Houston communities before key handover, usually at a minimum liability limit and often with the community named. And check your lease for bulk internet, RUBS water billing, valet trash, and pest control, all of which are recurring costs outside the rent.
We handle the electricity comparison and the insurance for renters we place, free — the property pays our fee after you sign, and we take no commission from any REP.