Houston electricity companies and rates: CenterPoint delivery charges

By the BillAnswers team · Updated November 3, 2026 · How we check facts

In Houston, CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric is the delivery (wires) company, whichever retail provider you choose. As of November 1, 2026, its residential delivery charges are $2.11 a month (customer charge), $2.79 a month (metering charge) and 6.5333 cents per kWh, which comes to $70.23 at 1,000 kWh before your provider's own charges and taxes.

Plan prices in Houston today

From the official Power to Choose plan list (PUCT), downloaded November 3, 2026. These are the average prices each plan prints on its Electricity Facts Label (EFL): recurring charges included, taxes excluded (16 TAC 25.475(g)(2)). We do not name plans or providers.

Plans counted: 42 fixed-rate, 12-month plans, not prepaid, not time of use. 9 of them have minimum-usage fees or bill credits. Each figure can come from a different plan.

Electricity companies in Houston

On November 3, 2026, 42 retail electric providers listed plans for homes on CenterPoint wires on the official Power to Choose site. They are listed here in alphabetical order, exactly as named on Power to Choose. This is not a ranking or a recommendation, and no provider pays us.

Abundance Energy, AE TEXAS, AMIGO ENERGY, AP GAS & ELECTRIC (TX) LLC, Atlantex Power, BKV Energy, Budget Power, CHAMPION ENERGY SERVICES LLC, CHARIOT ENERGY, CIRRO ENERGY, CleanSky Energy, Companion Energy, CONSTELLATION NEWENERGY INC, DIRECT ENERGY, Discount Power, Energy Texas, Express Energy, FRONTIER UTILITIES, GEXA ENERGY, GOOD CHARLIE & CO LLC, GREEN MOUNTAIN ENERGY COMPANY, INFUSE ENERGY, JUST ENERGY, NEC Co-op Energy, Octopus Energy, PAYLESS POWER, PRONTO POWER, Ranchero Power, RELIANT, REVOLUTION ENERGY LLC, RHYTHM, SMARTENERGY HOLDINGS LLC, SOUTHERN FEDERAL POWER LLC, SPARK ENERGY LLC, TARA ENERGY, Texans Choice Power LLC, Think Energy, TRIEAGLE ENERGY LP, TRUE POWER, TXU ENERGY, VARSITY ENERGY LLC, Veteran Energy.

Who delivers electricity in Houston

CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric's delivery tariff describes its service territory as about 5,000 square miles covering Houston and 165 other cities, villages and communities in the Texas Gulf Coast region (tariff Sheet 2.1). CenterPoint owns the poles and wires; it does not sell you electricity. You buy electricity from a retail electric provider you choose, and CenterPoint delivers it.

Switching providers does not change that. Power to Choose, the PUCT's shopping site, says switching to another electric company will not interrupt your service, and the same wires company keeps delivering your power.

If you live outside the city, check the delivery company shown on your bill. Some areas are served by a municipal utility or an electric cooperative, and the PUCT says you can choose your provider where you are not served by one of those.

CenterPoint residential delivery charges

These are the charges CenterPoint reported to the PUCT for residential customers. They reach you through your retail plan: a plan's Electricity Facts Label (EFL) may list them as separate lines or include them in one energy price.

The utilities file these summaries with the PUCT every month, so check the PUCT page for the current figures before you compare plans.

Worked example: delivery cost alone

Delivery cost each month = customer charge + metering charge + (usage in kWh × $0.065333). The two monthly charges add up to $2.11 + $2.79 = $4.90.

Totals are rounded to the cent. The PUCT page lists its own average bills at the same usage levels. Small differences from this arithmetic come from rounding in the listed rate; where a figure differs, check the utility's tariff. This is only the delivery part: your provider's energy charge, any base charge or credit, and taxes come on top.

Delivery per kWh falls as usage rises, because the $4.90 in monthly charges is spread over more kWh. For scale, EIA reports that the average Texas home used 1,096 kWh a month in 2024 (EIA Table 5A, 2024 data).

Why delivery costs differ in Dallas

Dallas is in the territory of a different delivery company, Oncor, which has its own charges: $4.06 a month in fixed charges and 6.8673 cents per kWh, as of November 1, 2026. At 1,000 kWh, Oncor delivery comes to $72.73, against $70.23 for CenterPoint. At 500 kWh the figures are $38.40 for Oncor and $37.57 for CenterPoint, and at 2,000 kWh they are $141.41 and $135.57.

So the same energy price can produce a different bill in each area, even when a provider passes delivery through at cost. That is why you should compare plans using the delivery charges for your own address, not a number you saw for another city. See the Dallas page for the full Oncor breakdown.

How to use the calculator with CenterPoint numbers

1. Open the true-cost calculator and enter your monthly usage from a recent bill.
2. Open the EFL for each plan you are comparing and copy its energy charge, base charge and any bill credit with its usage limits.
3. If the EFL lists delivery charges separately, enter 6.5333 in "Delivery charge (cents per kWh)" and 4.90 in "Delivery charge ($ per month)", or the EFL's own figures if they differ.
4. If the EFL folds delivery into a single energy price, leave both delivery boxes empty so you do not count delivery twice.
5. Compare the true price per kWh at your own usage, and try a summer month and a winter month.

How Houston compares with the Texas average

Last updated: November 3, 2026