For business · Texas rate guide

What makes up a Texas commercial electricity rate?

Two quotes can show different prices because they include different charges. Learn how to compare supply, delivery and contract conditions on the same basis.

By Voltcheckr Research · Published Aug 24, 2026 · Updated Oct 10, 2026 · 7 min read

What changed: Revised the opening and search description to clarify the question this guide answers.

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A Texas commercial rate has two layers. The supply price is your supplier's price for energy, set in your contract, and the PUCT does not set it. Delivery charges come from the local utility's tariff, which the PUCT regulates. For a Houston business on CenterPoint's lines, CenterPoint delivers through the supplier you choose, and the supplier bills you.^6,9,10

Delivery charges are set by rate class. On CenterPoint's lines, each class in the PUCT's rate report carries a customer charge and a metering charge each month. The smallest business accounts then pay delivery per kWh, while larger accounts pay charges per kVA of billed demand as well as per kWh. Utilities submit these summaries to the PUCT monthly.^7,8

Which tariff applies follows your service address and the utility whose lines serve it. A supplier can build delivery into its price per kWh or list it apart. How an offer shows delivery, demand and pass-through charges differs by supplier, so ask us and we'll check each offer. Our Houston business page, linked below, explains CenterPoint's delivery and demand charges.^6,9

For a small commercial account, one with peak demand under 50 kW, Texas rules define a fixed rate product. Its price, including recurring and ancillary service charges, stays the same for the term. It can move only for actual changes in utility delivery charges, ERCOT or Texas Regional Entity administrative fees, and new costs imposed by law.^1,2

A small commercial contract's terms of service and Electricity Facts Label must name the product type: fixed rate or variable price. A variable price can change by a method the supplier sets. Suppliers and brokers may not offer small commercial customers an indexed product, or one that passes through real-time wholesale prices.¹

A larger account can agree to different terms in writing, so its contract decides what is fixed. Before such a business enrolls in a product that passes through real-time wholesale prices, or bills ancillary service charges separately, Texas rules require the supplier or broker to get its signed Acknowledgement of Risk.^2,3

EIA publishes the average price Texas commercial customers paid each month: revenue divided by kWh sold. It blends supply and delivery for every account size, including utility areas without retail choice. By our arithmetic, the yearly average was about 7% higher in 2025 than in 2019, and about 12% higher in 2022, the peak year in that span.¹¹

Read the average as history, never as a quote. It mixes every business and utility area in the state, and a supplier's quote may price supply alone or include delivery, so the two are not directly comparable. Our Houston business page shows EIA's Texas commercial average with its month.¹¹

Your bill already shows an all-in unit price. Texas rules require a retail provider's bill to show "The average price you paid for electric service this month": all recurring charges, delivery included, divided by your kWh. It leaves out sales taxes, the gross receipts tax reimbursement and one-time charges or credits.^1,4

Compare that number with an offer only after adding what the offer leaves out. A supply price with delivery listed apart needs the delivery charges added back, and every offer needs its monthly charges counted at your own usage. A larger account's contract can set other billing terms, so check your own bill.²

1. 1

   Line up the term and start month

   Ask every supplier to price the same accounts, the same contract length and the same start month, so each offer covers the same months.

2. 2

   Use your own usage

   Send each one the same 12 months of kWh, and your billed demand if your bill shows it. Your history decides which offer costs less, not an average.

3. 3

   Ask what each price includes

   Is delivery built in or listed apart? Are ancillary services and ERCOT fees fixed or passed through? How do demand charges appear? Get the answers in writing.

4. 4

   Read the EFL or the contract

   Under 50 kW, the EFL shows the average price at 1,500, 2,500 and 3,500 kWh a month, assuming a 30% load factor where demand charges apply. Larger accounts compare the contract's price terms.

5. 5

   Estimate a year at your usage

   For each offer, multiply the supply price by your kWh, then add its monthly charges and, where delivery is listed apart, the delivery charges. Compare the totals, not the headline rates.

6. 6

   Compare the contract terms

   Check the early termination fee, any usage bandwidth and the price that applies if the term ends without a new contract.

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