TEXAS
Electric Supply: Deregulated
Gas Supply: Partially Deregulated
Electric Utilities: American Electric Power (AEP), CenterPoint, Oncor, Texas-New Mexico Power, Sharyland, SWEPCO (AEP), El Paso Electric, Entergy, Southwestern Public Service (Xcel)
Gas Utilities: Patara Oil & Gas, Texas Natural Gas, Xcel Energy, CoServ Gas, Atmos Energy, Direct Energy, Transwestern Pipeline, Florida GasTransmission Company, Gulf South Pipe Line, J-W Operating Company
PUC Website www.puc.state.tx.us
WHAT WE DO
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Electricity
Customers under the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) have the ability to choose an alternative electricity supplier. ERCOT covers areas Dallas-Ft. Worth, Houston, Corpus Christi and much of West Texas. The utilities in ERCOT are Oncor (Dallas-Ft. Worth), CenterPoint (Houston), AEP Texas Central (Corpus Christi), AEP Texas North (Abilene area), Texas-New Mexico Power, and Sharyland. SWEPCO (AEP), El Paso Electric, Entergy, and Southwestern Public Service (Xcel) are not currently open for competitive supply. Customers how do not choose an alternative supplier in ERCOT are supplied by an “Affiliated Retail Electric Provider” (legacy utility provider). Legacy providers charge rates determined by the market.
Natural Gas
Commercial customers in Texas that use at least 3,650 Mcf of natural gas per year, per meter (an average of 10 Mcf/day) – are eligible for alternative natural gas supply. Customers who choose not to purchase natural gas directly from an alternative supplier pay for “bundled service” from the local utility under which the utility. When a customer buys natural gas from a competitive gas supplier, a portion of the utility’s rate components are unbundled and charged separately.