Why Your Texas Electricity Bill Is So High (and What Every Line Actually Means)
A Texas electricity bill is high because of four stacked charges: the energy charge (what you can shop for), the TDU delivery charge (fixed by the state, same no matter who you buy from), a monthly base charge some plans add, and small local taxes. Your effective rate, total bill divided by total kWh, is the only honest way to see if you're overpaying. Voltcheckr's own data shows users averaging 21.8 cents per kWh effective, well above the 16.99-cent Texas average (EIA, 04/2026).
The average bill Voltcheckr's comparison tool has analyzed over the last 90 days sits at $360.85, based on 91 distinct bills. Behind that number is an effective rate of 21.8 cents per kWh, nearly 5 cents higher than the 16.99-cent average Texas rate the EIA reported for 04/2026. If your bill feels high, it usually isn't one mystery fee. It's four separate lines stacking on top of each other, and only one of them moves when you switch providers.
The Four Charges Hiding Inside Every Bill
Every Texas electricity bill, no matter the provider, is built from the same four pieces. First is the energy charge: the per-kWh price your retail provider sets for the electricity itself. Second is the TDU delivery charge: a regulated fee paid to the utility that owns the poles and wires in your area (Oncor in most of North Texas, CenterPoint around Houston, AEP or TNMP elsewhere), covering both a per-kWh rate and a flat monthly amount. Third is the base charge, a flat monthly fee some retail plans tack on regardless of usage. Fourth is state and local taxes, a small, fixed percentage set by law, not by your provider.
- •Energy charge: set by your retail provider, per kWh used. This is the only line that changes when you switch plans.
- •TDU delivery charge: set by the state-regulated utility, identical across every provider in your area, covers a per-kWh rate plus a fixed monthly fee.
- •Base charge: a flat monthly fee some plans add, can be $0 on one plan and a real cost on another, part of the plan design a provider controls.
- •Taxes and local fees: a small, fixed percentage, unaffected by which provider you choose.
What a Plan Switch Can Actually Move
Because the delivery charge and taxes are fixed by regulation, a plan switch can only touch the energy charge and, sometimes, the base charge. That's still meaningful. Using the EIA's Texas average usage of 1,095 kWh a month, the math looks like this at the EIA's average rate: 1,095 kWh × 16.99¢ = $186.09 for the month, before any base charge or delivery line is added. A cheaper energy charge shrinks that first number. It cannot shrink the delivery line sitting next to it.
Watch for plans that advertise a rate calculated only at 1,000 kWh. If your actual usage runs higher, like Houston's 1,420 kWh average or Katy's 1,500 kWh average (both EIA figures), a base charge or tiered rate structure can push your real effective rate well above the number on the postcard. Always check the rate at your own usage level, not the marketing usage level.
Why Some Texas Homes Use Almost 50% More Electricity Than Others
The energy charge and delivery charge both scale with usage, so usage differences between cities matter as much as rate differences. Austin, largely served by Austin Energy and Oncor, averages 1,060 kWh a month per EIA data. Katy, in CenterPoint territory, averages 1,500 kWh, about 42% more. At the same 16.99-cent EIA average rate, that's the difference between a $180.09 energy charge (1,060 × 16.99¢) and a $254.85 energy charge (1,500 × 16.99¢), a $74.76 gap driven entirely by usage, not rate.
Bigger homes, hotter climates, and larger lots drive usage up, and usage is one of the two levers (along with rate) that set your energy charge.
Texas is supposed to run cheaper than the national average, and it does on paper. The average effective rate behind real bills tells a different story.
Texas is supposed to be cheaper than the national average, and by the EIA's numbers, it is: 16.99¢/kWh here versus 18.83¢/kWh nationally (both 04/2026). But the average effective rate on real bills Voltcheckr has analyzed is 21.8¢/kWh, about 3 cents above the national average and 4.81 cents above the Texas average. On a 1,095 kWh month, that gap alone is $52.67 (1,095 kWh × 4.81¢) sitting quietly on top of what a Texas bill should cost.
Find your own effective rate: take the total dollar amount on your bill and divide it by the total kWh you used that month, both numbers are printed on the bill. That single figure already includes the energy charge, delivery charge, base charge, and taxes. Compare that number, not the advertised per-kWh rate, when deciding whether a new plan is actually cheaper.
If your effective rate is anywhere near 21.8 cents per kWh, part of your bill is movable. Compare live rates for your home at Voltcheckr and see your energy charge line side by side against today's actual plans.
Compare Live Rates for My HomeFrequently asked questions
A TDU (Transmission and Distribution Utility) is the company that owns the poles and wires in your area, like Oncor, CenterPoint, or AEP. Every retail electric plan in your area pays the same TDU delivery rate, so no matter which provider you pick, that line stays the same.
Your per-kWh rate is only half the equation. If your usage climbs from an average Austin month (1,060 kWh, EIA) to a hotter Katy-style month (1,500 kWh, EIA), the energy charge and the delivery charge both scale up with the extra kWh, even at the exact same rate.
The energy charge is the price your retail provider sets for the electricity itself, and it's the one thing that changes when you switch plans. The delivery charge is a regulated, fixed fee for moving that power to your house, and it's identical across every provider in your TDU territory.
Your effective rate is your total bill divided by your total kWh used that month. It's the only number that captures the energy charge, delivery charge, base charge, and taxes all at once, which is why comparing plans by effective rate at your actual usage beats comparing headline per-kWh numbers.
Yes, but only the energy charge and any base charge move when you switch. The TDU delivery charge and local taxes stay fixed regardless of provider, so a switch shrinks part of the bill, not all of it.