The same math we run on rent
A concession makes an apartment look cheaper than it is by spreading a discount across a term. An electricity plan does something similar by quoting a rate at a usage level you won’t hit.
Both are solved the same way: work out what you’ll actually pay, at the actual usage or term, rather than accepting the marketing number. That’s the whole method, and it’s the one we apply across our moving concierge service. Setup mechanics are in choosing a Houston electricity plan on the CenterPoint grid.
What’s inside a Texas electricity rate
Four components, and only one of them is advertised.
Energy charge. The per-kWh price for the electricity itself.
Base charge. A fixed monthly fee regardless of usage, often $5–$10. This is what wrecks the effective rate at low consumption — a $9.95 base charge across 500 kWh adds 2¢ per kWh on its own.
Delivery charges. CenterPoint’s charges for moving the power. Same for everyone; some plans bundle them into the quoted rate and some don’t.
Bill credits or minimum-usage charges. The interesting part. A plan might give a $50 credit for any month above 1,000 kWh, which produces a spectacular headline rate at exactly 1,000 kWh and a poor one at 800.
A worked comparison
Two plans, as they’d appear on a comparison site.
Plan A: advertised 9.8¢ per kWh, with a $50 bill credit above 1,000 kWh and a $9.95 base charge. Plan B: advertised 12.1¢ per kWh, no bill credit, no base charge.
At 1,000 kWh, Plan A looks excellent. At 600 kWh — a realistic shoulder-month figure for a one-bedroom — the credit doesn’t apply and the base charge spreads across fewer units:
| Usage | Plan A effective | Plan B effective |
|---|---|---|
| 600 kWh | ~13.5¢ | 12.1¢ |
| 1,000 kWh | ~9.8¢ | 12.1¢ |
| 1,400 kWh | ~10.6¢ | 12.1¢ |
Plan A wins at high usage and loses at low. Which one is right for you depends entirely on your unit size and how you run the air conditioning — and since Houston has both mild shoulder months and brutal summers, most renters land in both columns during a single year.
The illustrative figures above are structural examples, not current quotes. Rates change constantly; use the Electricity Facts Label for the plans actually available to you.
Read the Electricity Facts Label
Every Texas REP must publish one. It shows the average price at 500, 1,000, and 2,000 kWh, the base charge, the contract term, and the early-termination fee. One page, all the information, no marketing.
Estimate your usage first
You can’t compare plans without a usage number. Rough Houston guidance:
- Studio / small 1BR: 400–600 kWh shoulder, 800–1,100 peak summer
- Standard 1BR: 500–800 shoulder, 1,000–1,400 peak
- 2BR: 700–1,000 shoulder, 1,300–1,800 peak
Older buildings, west-facing glass, and high ceilings all push it up. If you’re moving into a loft with fourteen-foot ceilings and a wall of windows, plan for the top of the range.
Traps worth naming
Teaser rates that reprice. Some plans advertise a low introductory rate that changes after a few months. Check the term.
Early-termination fees. Usually $150–$200. Match the plan term to your lease so a move doesn’t trigger one.
Auto-renewal to a variable rate. When a fixed plan ends, some providers roll you onto a much higher variable rate automatically. Diarise the end date.
“Free nights” and “free weekends.” These can genuinely work if your usage matches the window, and are expensive if it doesn’t, because the daytime rate is elevated to fund the free hours.
The short version
Find your realistic usage. Read the Electricity Facts Label at that number. Match the contract term to your lease. Ignore the headline rate entirely.
Or hand it to us with the rest of the move-in list. Free — the property pays our fee after you sign, and we take no commission from any electricity provider, which is the only reason our answer is worth anything.