For homes · Houston moving guide
Setting up electricity when you move in Texas
Make electricity part of your move-in plan. Check the new address, choose a service date and understand how to close the old account.
By Voltcheckr Research · Published Aug 5, 2026 · Updated Oct 10, 2026 · 7 min read
What changed: Added Dallas and Fort Worth city links; revised the opening and search description to clarify the question this guide answers.
The short answer
To set up electricity for a move in Texas, pick a plan and ask the provider to start service on your move-in date. At a working smart meter, the utility's tariff starts it that day if the order reaches the utility by 7 p.m. Central, except Sundays and holidays. Then end service at your old address.
- Moving ends a contract with no early termination fee if you give a forwarding address and any reasonable proof your provider asks for.
- A provider cannot charge you a fee to enroll, but a charge in the utility's tariff for connecting service can be passed on.
- The three-day right to cancel a new plan covers a switch, not a move-in.
- A deposit is capped at the greater of one fifth of a year's estimated billing or two months' estimated billing, and prepaid service cannot require one.
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Your moving checklist
Setting up electricity at a new Texas address takes five steps, in this order. These rules apply where you buy electricity from a retail electric provider, as Houston homes with retail choice do. The utility that owns the wires connects the service, and your provider orders it.1,4
Choose a plan for the new home
Read each plan's Electricity Facts Label at the usage level nearest the new home's likely use, since you have no bills there yet.
Enroll and request your start date
Ask the provider to start service on your move-in date. It must tell you the approximate date service will begin, and any delay it knows of.
Check what you are told before you confirm
Online, the provider must show the price, the term, any early termination fee and any deposit before you confirm.
End service at the old address
Ask your current provider to stop service on your move-out date. It sends the utility's move-out order for you.
Keep your terms of service
They list any move-in charges and your right to leave the contract with no fee when you move.
When service starts at the new address
At a home with a working smart meter, the utility starts service on the date you ask for, if the order reaches it by 7 p.m. Central that day. That holds on any day except a Sunday or a holiday. On a Sunday or holiday, service starts by the next day that is neither.1
The tariff calls this meter a Standard Meter: one the utility can read and connect remotely. The holidays it names are New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. A utility may add holidays it posts on its website, so check around a holiday.1
The 7 p.m. time is when the order must reach the utility, not when you call. Your provider sends it through ERCOT, which directs the utility to connect you, so order well before then. The same timelines bind every investor-owned delivery utility in Texas; a utility can set only the charge.2,3
A new meter needs two business days
A home that needs a new meter starts on the date you ask for only if three things hold: the date is a business day, and the order reaches the utility by 5 p.m. Central on a business day, at least two business days before. Business days are Monday to Friday, holidays excepted.1
With less notice, the utility completes it within two business days of receiving the order. If you ask for a weekend or a holiday with enough notice, service starts by the first business day after it.1
Move-in dates in one example week, November 2026
| Requested date | Working smart meter | New meter, ordered by 5 p.m. |
|---|---|---|
| Fri, Nov 6 | Same day | Same day if ordered Wed, Nov 4 |
| Sat, Nov 7 | Same day: Saturday counts | Mon, Nov 9 if ordered Thu, Nov 5 |
| Sun, Nov 8 | Mon, Nov 9 | Mon, Nov 9 if ordered Thu, Nov 5 |
| Mon, Nov 9 | Same day | Same day if ordered Thu, Nov 5 |
Leaving the plan at your old address
A contract covers service only at the address it names, and you have no obligation to take it to the new one. The rule reads: "There must be no early termination fee assessed to the customer as a result of the customer's relocation if the customer provides a forwarding address and, if required, reasonable evidence".4
Ask your current provider to end service on your move-out date. It sends the move-out order, and at a smart meter the utility completes it on that date when the order reaches it by 7 p.m. Central, on a day other than a Sunday or a holiday.1
Some providers can move your service to the new address instead. When the provider stays the same and the terms do not change materially, Texas rules treat it as a transfer: the enrollment authorization steps and the right to cancel do not apply. Whether to transfer is your choice.3,4
Fees, and the right to cancel
A provider cannot charge you a fee to enroll. A charge in the utility's tariff for connecting service can be passed on to you, and your terms of service must describe any move-in charges, including connection fees.3,4
On a switch, you can cancel a new plan without a fee within three federal business days after receiving its terms of service. That right does not cover a move-in. Read the terms, the price and any early termination fee before you confirm service at a new address.3
Deposits and credit at a new address
A provider may ask a new customer to show satisfactory credit, and may require a deposit if you cannot. Every provider must accept two ways to show it: being 65 or older and not behind on any electric account, or a certification letter as a victim of family violence.5
A provider may also check your payment history with a provider that served you in the last two years, with your permission, or use a credit report. Before you confirm, it must state any deposit and its estimated amount, or how it is calculated.3,5
How a deposit works under Texas rules
| Question | What the rule says | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| How much at most | The greater of one fifth of a year's estimated billing or two months' estimated billing | §25.478(e) |
| When it comes back | After 12 residential bills in a row paid with no late payment | §25.478(j)(1) |
| When you leave the provider | Moved to your new provider or refunded, with interest, less any amount you still owe | §25.478(j)(2) |
| On a prepaid plan | No security deposit may be required | §25.498(c)(11) |
Your ESI ID, and the usage to plan for
An ESI ID is the number that identifies the meter point at an address in ERCOT's registration system. Every bill shows it, beside the service address. When you enroll by phone, the provider confirms it if it is available, so you do not need it to start.1,3,6
Every Electricity Facts Label gives the plan's average price at 500, 1,000 and 2,000 kWh a month. At a new address you have no bills yet, so read the level nearest the home's likely use. The EIA's average for a Texas home was 1,095 kWh a month from July 2025 to June 2026.4,9
Questions
How far ahead should I set up electricity before moving in Texas?
Order it as soon as you know your move-in date. At a working smart meter, the utility starts service on your date if the order reaches it by 7 p.m. Central, except Sundays and holidays. A new meter needs the order two business days ahead, by 5 p.m.
Can I transfer my electricity plan to my new address?
If your provider offers it. A move with the same provider and no material change in terms is treated as a transfer. You are not obliged to take the contract along: moving ends it with no fee if you give a forwarding address and any reasonable proof asked for.
Do I pay an early termination fee when I move?
No, if you give your provider a forwarding address and, if it asks, reasonable evidence that you no longer live at the address in the contract. Your terms of service must state this right.
Do I need a deposit to start electricity at a new home?
Only if the provider requires one and you cannot show satisfactory credit. Being 65 or older and not behind on an electric account counts at every provider. A deposit is capped by rule, and prepaid service cannot require one.
What is an ESI ID, and where do I find it?
The number that identifies the meter point at an address in ERCOT's registration system. It is printed on every bill. The provider confirms it when you enroll if it is available, so you can start without it.
Sources
- PUCT, Tariff for Retail Delivery Service, 16 TAC §25.214(d) Figure (d)(1), read Oct 5, 2026
- 16 TAC §25.214, Terms and Conditions of Retail Delivery Service (PUCT), read Oct 5, 2026
- 16 TAC §25.474, Selection of Retail Electric Provider (PUCT), read Oct 5, 2026
- 16 TAC §25.475, Retail Electric Provider Requirements and Disclosures (PUCT), read Oct 5, 2026
- 16 TAC §25.478, Credit Requirements and Deposits (PUCT), read Oct 5, 2026
- 16 TAC §25.479, Issuance and Format of Bills (PUCT), read Oct 5, 2026
- 16 TAC §25.498, Prepaid Service (PUCT), read Oct 5, 2026
- PUCT, Electricity FAQs, read Oct 5, 2026
- EIA, Electricity Data Browser: Texas residential sales and customers, July 2025 to June 2026, read Aug 31, 2026
How we research
Voltcheckr Research writes each guide from primary sources: the PUCT's rules, the utility's tariff and federal data. Every source is listed above with the day it was read. AI tools help draft each guide; every fact is checked against its source and the guide is approved before it is published. Voltcheckr LLC is a PUCT-registered broker, registration BR260102, with no affiliated supplier.
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