Commercial Electricity
Rates in Houston

4CP is ERCOT's four summer peaks: the 15-minute interval of highest demand on the grid in each of June, July, August and September. On CenterPoint's tariff it sets the transmission charge for an account whose demand has passed 700 kVA, using its demand at those four peaks in the previous year, fixed from February for 12 months. Smaller accounts pay transmission on their own monthly peak or their kWh. The PUCT is reviewing 4CP under Senate Bill 6.

Yes. A commercial account whose service address is delivered by CenterPoint picks its retail electricity supplier and contract term under Texas competition, and delivery stays with CenterPoint under its PUCT-approved tariff whichever supplier it signs with. Eligibility follows the utility named on the bill; an address served by a municipal utility or an electric cooperative that has not opted into retail competition does not shop retail suppliers.

CenterPoint Energy delivers electricity in Houston (Houston metro and surrounding Southeast Texas) and stays your delivery utility whichever supplier you sign with. Delivery is billed under CenterPoint Energy's PUCT-approved tariff, and how those charges, demand charges and other pass-throughs appear in an offer differs by supplier, so ask us and we'll check how each offer treats them; the supply contract is the part a business shops.

You pick the term: suppliers quote fixed-rate contracts in several lengths, index and hybrid structures exist for larger accounts, and your results list each term quoted for your ZIP. A longer term holds the price longer; a shorter one lets you shop again sooner. Start watching your renewal about 18 months before the current contract ends and shop it 6 to 12 months out, since suppliers can price a contract to start months ahead. Voltcheckr's renewal reminder emails start about 90 days out, a backstop before a lapse onto a holdover rate.

A good rate is the lowest offer for your own usage once every offer is compared on the same term and start month, with its fees, usage bandwidth and pass-through charges read. A published average is not the test: the EIA's figure for Texas businesses covers a past month and includes delivery, while a supplier's quote may price supply alone, so the two do not compare.

Price every offer at your own usage, on the same term and start month, then read what each one fixes. A lower price per kWh does not always mean a lower total: a usage bandwidth, pass-through charges or an early termination fee can change what a contract costs. Enter your ZIP or send one bill, and the results price each offer at your usage, side by side, with its fees.

It turns on the kWh the business uses. Across Texas, the average commercial account paid about $840 a month from July 2025 to June 2026, by our arithmetic on preliminary EIA data. That figure is all-in, delivery included, so it does not compare with a supply-only quote, and it mixes corner stores with hospitals, so a small office's bill can sit far below it. For your own figure, multiply your monthly kWh by the average price line a small commercial bill prints.

Compare every offer on the same term and start month: the supply price per kWh, whether it is fixed for the whole term, any usage bandwidth, and the early termination fee. How delivery, demand and pass-through charges appear in an offer differs by supplier, and the supplier's contract shows them before you sign, so ask us and we'll check each offer. A kitchen's demand peaks when ovens, fryers, dishwashers and HVAC run together during service. A restaurant that has not opened can be quoted from projected usage.

The supplier list on this page names the suppliers Voltcheckr shops for Texas businesses. Not every supplier bids on every account: availability turns on the delivery utility, usage and load shape, the supplier's credit review and what it is quoting that week, so a name on a list is not an offer. Enter your ZIP or send one bill to see which offers match a Houston account.

For a standard account: the service address or ESI ID, one recent bill or your monthly kWh, and the date your current contract ends if you have one. A new location with no usage history can be quoted from a projected usage figure. Suppliers routinely ask for more usage history and run a credit review before eligibility and final pricing are settled, and a deposit can apply to a new business account. There is no separate fee for Voltcheckr's service; the supplier you sign with pays the commission.

No. Switching changes who sells you electricity, not the wires: CenterPoint keeps delivering it to the same meter. The new supplier takes over on the date agreed in your contract, either the meter's next scheduled read or a specific date you ask for, so a business can line it up with the day its current contract ends. Report an outage to CenterPoint, whichever supplier you choose.

Your contract decides it, and usually the account moves to the supplier's month-to-month rate, often called a holdover rate, until you sign again. For a small commercial account (peak demand under 50 kW), Texas rules require at least three written expiration notices, the last at least 14 days before the end date, and with no action the account moves to a month-to-month product it can cancel without a fee. Shop 6 to 12 months before the end date.

It can. Under 16 TAC 25.478 a supplier sets its own credit criteria for a business and may require a deposit; the rule caps a home deposit but not a business one, requires interest on it, and refunds it after 24 consecutive billings with no late payment. Ask each supplier what it requires before you sign.

Look the broker up in the Public Utility Commission of Texas directory of registered brokers, which lists each one's registration number. A broker serving Texas customers must register with the PUCT. Voltcheckr LLC is registered as BR260102.

A broker shops the supply contract: Voltcheckr prices offers from several suppliers at your usage, sets their terms side by side and carries the paperwork to your signature with the supplier you choose. It cannot lower CenterPoint's delivery charges, which its PUCT-approved tariff sets, or your taxes, and no supplier changes who restores your power. Whether it is worth it shows in the offers, so set them beside any quote a supplier gives you directly, on the same term and start month.