Quick answer
Every Texas plan must show its price at three set usage levels: 500, 1,000 and 2,000 kWh a month. Your bill is worked out on what you actually used. If a plan’s cheap headline price sits at exactly 1,000 kWh, any month above or below that can cost you a lot more per unit.
You signed up for 9 cents. Your bill says 14.
You did not misread the ad. Nothing illegal happened.
The gap comes from how plan prices have to be shown in Texas, and how some providers design plans around that rule.
Where the three numbers come from
Public Utility Commission of Texas Rule 25.475 says every plan needs an Electricity Facts Label. That label must show the average price per kWh at 500, 1,000 and 2,000 kWh.
The idea was good. Three set snapshots let you compare any two plans quickly.
What happened next: those three numbers became targets. Comparison sites sort by the 1,000 kWh column. So a plan only has to look cheap in that one column to get seen.
Three ways a cheap plan stops being cheap
Bill credits. A plan gives you a credit, say $75, only in months you go above 1,000 kWh. At 1,010 kWh you get it. At 980 kWh you get nothing, and your price per unit jumps.
Minimum usage fees. Some plans charge extra in any month you use too little. Light months get punished. This hits apartments, small households and anyone who travels.
Base charges. A flat monthly fee spread over your usage. At 2,000 kWh a $9.95 fee adds half a cent per unit. At 500 kWh the same fee adds two cents.
All three are legal. All three are printed on the label. All three are invisible if you only read the headline rate.
Read all three columns, not one
| What the label shows | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| All three prices close together | Steady pricing. Your usage swings will not hurt you. |
| 1,000 kWh price much lower than the rest | A credit is doing the work, and only in that band. |
| 500 kWh price far higher | A base charge or minimum usage fee is eating light months. |
| 2,000 kWh price higher than 1,000 kWh | Be careful. That is your July and August. |
A plan that looks cheapest in a search result but worst in two of its three columns is not cheap. It is a bet that your usage lands in one band every month.
Nobody in Texas uses 1,000 kWh every month
Across Texas, the average home used 819 kWh in March 2026 and 1,309 kWh in June 2026, per U.S. Energy Information Administration data. August 2025 averaged 1,522 kWh.
Spring is light. Summer is heavy. A plan built for one point on that curve is wrong for most of the year.
Check it yourself in ten minutes
- Get 12 months of kWh from your online account. Write down your lowest month, your highest month and your average.
- Open the label for any plan you like. Find the three prices.
- Read the fine print for bill credits, minimum usage fees and base charges. Note the usage numbers attached to each.
- Test the plan against your lowest and highest months. Not your average. You rarely have an average month.
- Do the same for every plan on your list.
If a plan only wins when you pretend every month is 1,000 kWh, it does not win.
Where a buying group changes this
On your own, you are one customer a provider has to find and sign up. That costs them money, and one place they get it back is a plan shaped to reward a narrow usage band.
A buying group arrives as one block of committed homes instead. Aggregate Energy negotiates for the group, which pushes the talk toward steady pricing rather than a headline number built for a comparison table.
Check your ZIP code to see how it works where you live.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my rate different from the ad?
The advertised rate is shown at a set usage level, usually 1,000 kWh. Your bill uses your real usage, plus delivery charges.
What is a bill credit?
Money taken off your bill when your usage meets a condition, usually crossing a set level. Miss it and you lose the whole credit.
What if I use under 1,000 kWh?
On a credit plan, your real price per unit can jump. The 500 kWh column on the label shows you how far.
Are minimum usage fees legal in Texas?
Yes, as long as they are shown on the label. That is why the label matters.
Which number should I compare?
The one closest to your own usage, checked against your lightest and heaviest months.