How to Audit a Commercial Electricity Bill in Texas (Line by Line)

Most Texas businesses treat their monthly electricity invoice as a fixed cost. They glance at the total, code it to a general ledger account, and move on. That habit routinely leaves money on the table. A proper commercial electricity bill audit in Texas, meaning a line-by-line reconciliation of every charge against your contract, your interval data, and the applicable TDSP tariff, catches errors, overcharges, forgotten credits, and mispriced pass-throughs that add up to real annual dollars on a single account.

This guide walks through exactly how to audit a commercial electricity bill in Texas, one line at a time. It covers what every charge represents, how to verify each one against its source document, and where errors most commonly hide. It includes an annotated bill example, a printable audit checklist, and the diagnostic process for turning a suspected error into a documented refund request.

Why bill auditing matters

The Texas deregulated market splits every commercial electricity bill into two paying entities and three regulatory sources:

• The Retail Electric Provider (REP) you contracted with charges for the energy portion under the terms of your signed contract and its Electricity Facts Label (EFL).
• The Transmission and Distribution Service Provider (TDSP or TDU), your local utility, one of Oncor, CenterPoint, AEP Texas Central, AEP Texas North, or TNMP, charges for the physical delivery of that energy under a PUCT-approved tariff.
• State and local government collect the PUC assessment, sales taxes, gross receipts tax reimbursement, and other regulatory charges.

Any of these can be wrong. The REP can bill you against the wrong contract rate, apply pass-throughs that weren't authorized, or fail to apply a contractual credit. The TDSP can bill on the wrong rate class, apply an outdated ratchet, or pass through a rider that has since been superseded. The tax line can miss a manufacturing exemption. Estimated meter reads can produce swings that never get trued up. Meter multipliers can be entered wrong at the outset and quietly carry forward for years.

Competitors' educational content typically stops at "here's what each line means." That is not an audit. An audit asks a different question: for each line on this bill, is this the number that should have been billed? This piece is built around that question.

Before you start: five documents you need

You cannot audit a bill in isolation. Pull the following before you begin:

1. The current bill you want to audit, in full (not just page one).
2. The prior 11 to 12 months of bills for the same account, for demand ratchet verification and month-over-month variance analysis.
3. The signed REP contract or Terms of Service covering the billing period, plus the applicable Electricity Facts Label (EFL) if one was issued for your account.
4. The applicable TDSP tariff for your rate schedule, effective on the billing period end date. TDSP tariffs are published at puct.texas.gov and on each utility's website.
5. Your 15-minute interval data for the billing period from Smart Meter Texas (smartmetertexas.com). You'll need this to verify demand and kWh.

If your billing history is scattered across email inboxes, previous property managers, or a former energy consultant, the audit will be incomplete. Getting these five items together is the single most time-consuming part of the process, and it is why running a bill audit annually, rather than reactively when a bill looks wrong, pays back better.

Step 1: Verify the account and ESI ID

The first check is the most basic and the most often skipped: is this bill actually for the premises you think it is?

What to verify:

• Service address exactly matches the physical location being audited, including suite or unit number.
• ESI ID (a 17-digit number starting with 10) matches the ESI ID for that premises. In Texas, the ESI ID is the unique identifier that ERCOT uses to route electricity to a specific service delivery point. Two suites in the same building can have different ESI IDs. A single business at one address can have multiple ESI IDs for separate meters.
• Account number matches your REP records.
• Meter number on the bill matches the physical meter at the premises.
• Rate class or schedule matches what your account should be on given its demand level (small commercial versus demand-metered commercial versus primary service).

Why this matters:

For property managers, portfolio operators, or any business with multiple locations, ESI ID errors are surprisingly common. A REP may have set up two locations under one account, or applied one contract's rate to another location's meter. A restaurant chain running electricity across a dozen storefronts can end up with one store paying against a different location's ESI ID for years.

If you don't know your ESI ID, our ESI ID lookup for Texas commercial addresses finds it from your service address. Cross-check every ESI ID on your bills against the physical premises before spending time verifying dollar amounts.

Step 2: Check the billing period and meter reads

The mechanics of energy measurement determine the kWh figure everything else builds on.

What to verify:

• Billing period dates are contiguous with the prior bill (no overlap, no gap).
• Number of days in the billing period is reasonable (usually 28 to 33 days).
• Meter read type is "actual" and not "estimated." An estimated read means the TDSP could not read the meter that cycle and estimated the usage; when the meter is next read, a true-up adjusts the following bill.
• Previous read matches the current read from the prior bill.
• Current read is greater than the previous read (unless the meter has rolled over its maximum, which is rare for modern digital meters).
• Meter multiplier matches the multiplier registered for your meter with the TDSP.

The math:

Billed kWh = (Current read − Previous read) × Meter multiplier

Example: Previous read 45,230. Current read 46,780. Multiplier 20.

(46,780 − 45,230) × 20 = 1,550 × 20 = 31,000 kWh

If your bill shows a different figure, the discrepancy is either a math error, a multiplier discrepancy, or a mid-cycle read adjustment that should be documented.

Meter multipliers and CT ratios

Larger commercial meters often use current transformers (CTs) to measure high current safely. The CT ratio is the meter multiplier. A common error: a meter installed with a 40:1 CT that is billed as if it had a 20:1 CT (or vice versa) will produce charges that are half or double what they should be. This error can persist for years without anyone catching it because the bill still looks internally consistent. Verifying the multiplier on the bill against the utility's records for that meter is a five-minute check that has produced five-figure refunds.

Estimated reads

If your bill shows an estimated read, expect a true-up adjustment on a future bill (positive or negative). Do not calculate variance analysis against an estimated read as if it were accurate. Pull the next actual-read bill and compare the true-up.

Step 3: Verify REP energy charges

The REP side of your bill covers the electricity commodity you purchased. Every line here maps to a term in your signed contract.

What to verify:

• Energy charge (¢/kWh) matches your contracted rate in the signed contract or EFL, applied against the billed kWh.
• Monthly base charge or customer charge matches the fixed fee specified in your contract.
• Usage credits (if your contract includes them, common on residential-style plans, occasionally on small commercial) are correctly applied at the stated threshold.
• Minimum usage penalty (if applicable) is only applied when your usage falls below the threshold specified in the contract.
• REP demand charge (if applicable) is billed at the correct $/kW rate against the correct billing kW.
• Fuel adjustment, ancillary services, or pass-through riders are only billed if explicitly authorized in your contract, and are calculated per the contract's methodology.
• Green energy premiums (if any) match what you agreed to.

The math:

Energy charge = Billed kWh × Contract rate per kWh

Example: 31,000 kWh × $0.0765 = $2,371.50

If your contract rate is $0.0765 and your bill shows an implied rate of $0.0812, calculate the difference:

• Expected: $2,371.50
• Billed: $2,517.20 (31,000 × $0.0812)
• Variance: $145.70

That variance either reflects a legitimate pass-through allowed by your contract (which you should be able to identify by name) or an error.

The EFL versus the actual bill

An Electricity Facts Label discloses an average price at specific usage tiers (500 / 1,000 / 2,000 kWh for residential; 1,500 / 2,500 / 3,500 kWh for small commercial). These averages exclude certain non-recurring charges, taxes, and some TDSP items. A common source of confusion: the average price on your EFL is not the same as the effective ¢/kWh on your actual bill. Verify against the contract terms, not against the EFL's advertised price. For a walkthrough of how EFL disclosures work, our guide on how to read an Electricity Facts Label covers each section.

Contract expiration

Check that the billing period falls within your contract term. If your contract expired mid-cycle, verify how the REP handled the transition. Most Texas commercial contracts convert to a month-to-month or "holdover" rate on expiration, which is typically substantially higher than the original contracted rate. Businesses that continue paying the holdover rate rather than shopping a new contract routinely overpay 20% to 40% for their electricity. Our overview of Texas early termination fees on electricity contracts covers the contract mechanics on both sides of expiration.

Step 4: Audit TDSP delivery charges

The delivery side of the bill covers the physical infrastructure that gets electricity to your meter. These charges are regulated by the PUCT and passed through by your REP without markup (though your REP may present them differently on your bill).

What to verify:

• Customer charge (fixed monthly TDSP fee) matches the current tariff for your rate class.
• Metering charge (where separately itemized) matches the tariff.
• Distribution system charge is billed against the correct determinant (kWh or kW) at the correct rate.
• Transmission Cost Recovery Factor (TCRF) is billed at the current effective rate against the applicable billing determinant (may be kWh, NCP kW, or 4CP kW depending on your class).
• Distribution Cost Recovery Factor (DCRF) is billed at the current effective rate against the applicable determinant.
• Energy Efficiency Cost Recovery Factor (EECRF) is billed against kWh at the current rate.
• Nuclear Decommissioning Charge (NDC) and System Benefit Fund (SBF) where applicable.
• Rider RCE (Rate Case Expense) and any other approved surcharges match current PUCT filings.
• Storm restoration charges are only applied if authorized by the PUCT for a specific event.
• Competitive metering credit is applied where the TDSP does not own the meter.

Where to find the current tariff:

• Oncor: oncor.com under Rates & Tariffs
• CenterPoint: centerpointenergy.com under Business Rates & Tariffs
• AEP Texas: aeptexas.com under Rates
• TNMP: tnmp.com under Rates

Each publishes its current tariff with an effective date. Verify that the effective date on the tariff applies to your billing period. TDSP tariffs typically update on March 1 and September 1 of each year, with mid-cycle rider adjustments possible.

For a full breakdown of every delivery charge component and how each utility structures its tariff, our overview of TDSPs serving Texas commercial customers covers each service territory. The individual pages for Oncor delivery rates, CenterPoint delivery rates, AEP Texas Central delivery rates, AEP Texas North delivery rates, and TNMP delivery rates go deeper on each tariff.

Common TDSP audit findings:

• Account billed against the wrong rate class (for example, a business whose demand has consistently dropped below 10 kW still being billed on the >10 kW schedule).
• A rider being charged at a superseded rate because the billing system didn't update on the tariff's effective date.
• A charge appearing on the bill that isn't in the tariff at all.
• Storm restoration charges continuing to appear after the PUCT-authorized recovery period ended.

Step 5: Audit demand and kW

Demand charges are typically the largest single line on a commercial bill, and they involve the most complexity.

What to verify:

• Actual peak kW from your Smart Meter Texas interval data matches the peak on your bill.
• Billing kW is set correctly given your tariff (either equal to NCP peak, or ratcheted based on prior 11 months).
• The ratchet floor (if applicable) is calculated correctly against your actual prior 11-month peak history.
• 4CP demand (if your rate class uses it for transmission charges) matches the ERCOT-published intervals.
• Power factor / kVA billing is applied correctly for tariffs using kVA rather than kW.

Verifying peak kW against interval data:

1. Log into Smart Meter Texas.
2. Download 15-minute interval data for the billing period.
3. Sort by kW descending.
4. The top interval should match the peak kW on your bill.

If they don't match, the discrepancy needs investigation. Common causes include a meter or firmware issue, a data transmission error, or a mistagged interval.

Verifying ratchet math:

• Pull the peak kW from each of the prior 11 months.
• Identify the highest.
• Multiply by the ratchet percentage from your tariff (typically 80%).
• Compare that ratchet floor against your current-month actual peak.
• Billing kW should equal whichever is higher.

Example: Prior 11-month peaks range from 62 kW to 148 kW. Highest is 148 kW (August). 80% × 148 = 118.4 kW. Current-month actual peak is 71 kW. Billing kW should be 118.4 kW.

If the bill shows billing kW higher than both your current actual and the ratchet floor, something is wrong.

4CP verification:

For accounts on rate schedules that use 4CP kW, ERCOT publishes the four coincident peak intervals for the prior summer on ercot.com. Match your interval data at those exact 15-minute timestamps and calculate the average across the four intervals. This is your 4CP kW for the following year's transmission billing.

For a deeper walkthrough of demand billing mechanics and ratchet mathematics, our guide to demand charges and peak kW billing for Texas businesses covers the full framework.

Step 6: Check taxes and PUC assessment

The regulatory and tax layer of your bill has its own set of common errors.

What to verify:

• PUC assessment is calculated at 1/6 of 1% (approximately 0.1667%) of retail electric charges.
• State sales tax at 6.25% is applied to the taxable portion of your bill.
• Local sales tax (up to 2%, varies by jurisdiction) is applied at the correct combined rate for your service address.
• Gross receipts tax reimbursement is calculated per the applicable statute.
• Manufacturing sales tax exemption is applied if your account qualifies under Texas Tax Code §151.317.
• Agricultural exemption is applied if applicable.
• Non-profit exemption is applied where a qualifying non-profit has filed the required exemption certificate.
• Franchise fees (city-specific, where applicable) match the ordinance rate.

The manufacturing exemption:

Businesses whose predominant use of electricity at a specific meter is for manufacturing, processing, or fabricating tangible personal property for sale may qualify for a full or partial sales tax exemption on electricity at that meter. This exemption is not automatic; the business must file a Texas Comptroller exemption certificate with its REP. Many qualifying manufacturers pay full sales tax for years because they never filed the certificate, or because the certificate was filed but not correctly applied by the REP.

If your operation includes manufacturing and you're not currently claiming the exemption, this is worth a call with your tax accountant.

Non-profit exemptions:

501(c)(3) organizations, churches, and other qualifying non-profits can be exempt from state sales tax on electricity with the proper certificate on file. Again, this is not automatic and can be missed for years.

Step 7: Reconcile the entire bill

With every line verified, add them up.

The reconciliation:

• Sum every REP-side line (energy, base, credits, fees) = Expected REP subtotal
• Sum every TDSP-side line = Expected TDSP subtotal
• Sum every regulatory / tax line = Expected regulatory subtotal
• Add the three subtotals = Expected bill total

Compare against:

• Billed total on your invoice.
• Prior month's bill (for month-over-month variance).
• Same month prior year (for year-over-year seasonal comparison).

Variance analysis:

If your expected total matches the billed total within a few dollars, the bill is accurate. If it doesn't, work backward through the reconciliation to identify which subtotal is off, then which line within that subtotal is off.

Common variance sources:

• Prior-period adjustment appearing on the current bill (should be explained by REP customer service).
• Estimated read true-up from a previous cycle.
• Rider that changed effective date mid-cycle.
• Tax rate change applied mid-cycle.
• Bill correction from a prior audit that hasn't fully resolved.

Any variance you can't explain should be documented and escalated to your REP with the supporting evidence.

Annotated Texas commercial electricity bill

The table below is an anonymized reconciliation of a typical Texas commercial invoice. This is a mid-sized business on Oncor's Secondary Service Greater Than 10 kW schedule, using 31,000 kWh with a 105 kW peak. Every line is shown with what it represents, how to verify it, the source document, and audit status.

ACCOUNT INFORMATION

• Account number: 12345678. REP account identifier. Verify by matching to REP records (source: REP invoice history). Status: ✓
• ESI ID: 10 XXXX XXXX XXXX XXX. Service delivery point identifier. Verify by matching to the premises (source: ERCOT / TDSP records). Status: ✓
• Meter number: 000123456. Physical meter ID. Verify by matching to the meter on site (source: TDSP registration / on-site inspection). Status: ✓
• Billing period: 30 days. Days billed. Verify by comparing to the prior bill (source: Bill and prior bill). Status: ✓
• Read type: Actual. Meter reading method. Investigate any "estimated" reads (source: Bill / TDSP). Status: ✓
• Previous read: 45,230. Prior register value. Verify by matching the prior bill's current read (source: Prior bill). Status: ✓
• Current read: 46,780. Current register value. Verify the sequence is greater than the previous read (source: Meter data). Status: ✓
• Meter multiplier: 20. CT ratio. Verify by matching TDSP meter registration record (source: TDSP registration). Status: ⚠ requires investigation (this is the most common source of long-running errors).
• Billed kWh: 31,000. Calculated as (Current − Previous) × Multiplier. Verify: (46,780 − 45,230) × 20 = 31,000 (source: Meter data). Status: ✓
• Peak kW: 105. Highest 15-minute interval during the billing period. Verify by matching Smart Meter Texas interval data (source: Smart Meter Texas). Status: ✓

REP CHARGES

• Energy charge: $2,371.50. Calculated as 31,000 kWh × contract rate. Verify: 31,000 × $0.0765 = $2,371.50 (source: Signed contract). Status: ✓
• Base charge: $15.00. Fixed REP monthly fee. Verify by matching contract (source: Signed contract). Status: ✓

TDSP DELIVERY CHARGES

• Customer charge: $9.34. Fixed TDSP monthly fee. Verify by matching tariff (source: Oncor tariff). Status: ✓
• Metering charge: $23.09. TDSP metering fee. Verify by matching tariff (source: Oncor tariff). Status: ✓
• Distribution system charge: $652.85. Calculated as 105 kW × applicable per-kW rate. Verify by matching tariff × billing kW (source: Oncor tariff). Status: ✓
• TCRF: $268.24. Transmission Cost Recovery Factor. Verify by matching current TCRF rate against the applicable billing determinant (source: Oncor tariff). Status: ✓
• DCRF: $174.20. Distribution Cost Recovery Factor. Verify by matching current DCRF rate (source: Oncor tariff). Status: ✓
• EECRF: $8.53. Energy Efficiency Cost Recovery Factor. Verify: 31,000 kWh × current EECRF rate (source: Oncor tariff). Status: ✓

REGULATORY / TAX

• PUC assessment: $6.24. Calculated as 0.1667% of retail electric charges. Verify by recalculating against the applicable base (source: PUCT rule). Status: ✓
• Gross receipts reimbursement: $18.30. Statutory. Verify by matching statute (source: Texas Tax Code). Status: ✓
• Sales tax, state + local: $282.13. Calculated as 8.25% of the taxable base. Verify by recalculating against the applicable taxable amount and tax status (source: Tax exemption status). Status: ⚠ requires investigation (the business is a metal fabricator that has never filed a manufacturing exemption certificate).

TOTAL: $3,829.42. Amount due. Reconcile against the sum of all verified lines above.

Reading the annotations:

• ✓ means the line has been verified against its source document and matches.
• ⚠ means the line requires investigation.

In this example, the meter multiplier is flagged because it's the most common source of long-running errors (verify against the TDSP's meter registration, not the bill), and the sales tax is flagged because the business is a metal fabricator that has never filed for the manufacturing exemption, an unfiled exemption worth roughly $3,400 per year on this account.

10 common Texas commercial bill errors

The following errors turn up regularly in commercial bill audits.

1. Contract rate mismatch

The energy rate on the bill doesn't match the rate in the signed contract. Common cause: contract was amended and the amended rate wasn't loaded into the billing system.

2. Meter multiplier error

The multiplier on the bill doesn't match the physical CT ratio at the meter. This can persist for years.

3. Estimated reads without true-up

An estimated read produced high billing, and the following actual read didn't properly true up.

4. Outdated demand ratchet

The ratchet is being calculated against a peak that's older than 11 months, or the current peak was set during operational conditions that no longer apply.

5. Missed sales tax exemption

Manufacturing, agricultural, or non-profit exemption certificates were never filed or weren't correctly applied.

6. Wrong rate class

Account is billed on a small commercial schedule when it should be on demand-metered commercial, or vice versa. Or an account whose demand has permanently dropped below a threshold is still on the higher-tier schedule.

7. Duplicate or phantom charges

A line appears that isn't in the tariff or the contract, or a charge is billed twice under different names.

8. Missing contractual credits

A usage credit, rebate, or refund promised in the REP contract isn't being applied.

9. Wrong ESI ID

The bill covers a different premises than expected, or two accounts are cross-billed.

10. Holdover / month-to-month rate

Contract expired and the REP transitioned to a variable "holdover" rate without the customer noticing. Our overview of why business electricity bills spike unexpectedly covers the most common holdover and pricing traps.

Printable audit checklist

Use this checklist to work through a full bill audit. The full Texas commercial electricity bill audit process, from account verification through final reconciliation, breaks into eight sections.

Section 1: Account and meter verification

• Confirm business name and service address match premises
• Confirm ESI ID belongs to the correct property
• Confirm account number matches REP records
• Confirm meter number matches physical meter
• Confirm billing period dates
• Confirm number of billing days is reasonable (28 to 33)
• Confirm read type is "actual," not "estimated"
• Confirm meter multiplier matches TDSP records
• Verify: (Current read − Previous read) × Multiplier = Billed kWh

Section 2: Contract and EFL verification

• Locate signed REP contract or Terms of Service
• Locate applicable EFL if issued
• Verify contracted energy rate matches bill
• Verify base/customer charge matches contract
• Verify contract term and expiration date
• Check for automatic renewal or holdover provisions
• Identify pass-throughs permitted by the contract
• Check usage credits or minimum-usage provisions
• Check any REP-specific demand charge
• Confirm all REP-side charges reconcile against contract terms

Section 3: TDSP delivery verification

• Identify TDSP and applicable rate schedule
• Locate current TDSP tariff, effective on billing period
• Verify customer charge matches tariff
• Verify metering charge matches tariff
• Verify per-kWh delivery components
• Verify distribution system charge (kWh or kW basis)
• Verify TCRF at current rate against correct determinant
• Verify DCRF at current rate against correct determinant
• Verify EECRF at current rate against kWh
• Verify all other riders and surcharges
• Confirm no superseded rates are still being billed

Section 4: Demand and kW audit

• Pull 15-minute interval data from Smart Meter Texas
• Confirm peak kW on bill matches interval peak
• Verify billing kW matches applicable NCP or ratchet rule
• Compile prior 11-month peaks
• Calculate ratchet floor (typically 80% of highest prior peak)
• Verify billing kW is the higher of ratchet floor and current peak
• Check for power factor / kVA adjustments if applicable
• Verify 4CP applicability and calculation for transmission charges
• Recalculate the demand-related charge

Section 5: Taxes and regulatory charges

• Verify PUC assessment at 0.1667% of retail electric charges
• Verify state sales tax (6.25%) applied to taxable base
• Verify local sales tax at correct jurisdictional rate
• Check tax-exemption status (manufacturing, agricultural, non-profit)
• Verify gross receipts tax reimbursement
• Check for franchise fees where applicable
• Confirm no unusual one-time charges without explanation

Section 6: Credits, adjustments, and corrections

• Identify all credits on the bill
• Verify contracted credits were applied
• Identify prior-period adjustments and their source
• Confirm any refunds or corrections previously promised
• Check late fees against payment history
• Verify deposits and other non-recurring charges

Section 7: Final reconciliation

• Sum verified REP charges
• Sum verified TDSP charges
• Sum verified regulatory and tax charges
• Compare calculated total to billed total
• Document any unexplained variance
• Compare current bill to prior month
• Compare current bill to same month prior year
• Retain the bill, contract, tariff, and supporting evidence

Section 8: Procurement review

• Calculate all-in effective cost per kWh
• Compare current contract rate to current market
• Review contract expiration date
• Evaluate contract renewal timing
• Review demand profile and load factor before shopping
• Consider running a formal RFP if within 90 to 180 days of contract expiration

When to dispute a charge

If you've identified a charge that doesn't reconcile, the process for formal dispute has specific steps.

Step 1: Contact your REP. For any billing question about your energy charges, contract terms, or the REP-facing presentation of TDSP charges, start with your REP's commercial customer service line. Have your account number, the specific bill in question, and your documentation ready. Ask for a formal ticket or case number.

Step 2: For TDSP-specific disputes, your REP is still the correct first contact. REPs are responsible for their customers' billing and coordinate directly with the TDSP for delivery-side issues.

Step 3: Escalate to the PUCT if unresolved. The Public Utility Commission of Texas Customer Protection Division operates a customer hotline: 1-888-782-8477. File a formal complaint with case documentation if your REP has failed to resolve a legitimate billing dispute.

Documentation to retain:

• The disputed bill and its predecessors
• Your signed contract, EFL, and Terms of Service
• The applicable TDSP tariff
• Your interval data
• All correspondence with your REP
• Case or ticket numbers
• Reconciliation worksheets

Timing:

Most Texas REPs will accept billing disputes going back 12 to 24 months. Some contract terms may specify shorter windows. Multi-year errors (particularly meter multiplier errors or unclaimed exemptions) may require negotiation on the lookback period. Prompt documentation improves recovery.

When to shop your electricity contract

An audit that reconciles clean doesn't mean the pricing is competitive. The audit tells you the bill is accurate. Whether the rate itself is a good rate is a separate question.

Two calculations to run:

1. Effective ¢/kWh

Divide the total bill (or the pre-tax total) by the billed kWh. This is your all-in cost per kilowatt-hour. A contract that quoted at 7.0¢/kWh often produces effective rates of 10¢ to 13¢/kWh after TDSP delivery, riders, taxes, and demand-related charges. Compare that effective rate to what the current market offers on similar terms.

2. Contract expiration

Note when your current contract expires. Prices in Texas commercial electricity can move substantially over 3 to 12 months, and locking in a new contract at the wrong point in the market can cost real money. Most well-run procurement processes start 90 to 180 days before contract expiration.

For a supplier-neutral comparison of current market offers benchmarked against the ERCOT forward curve, our commercial electricity comparison for Texas businesses runs structured RFPs across more than 46 retail electric providers. The 5-step energy procurement process for Texas commercial buyers documents each stage from intake through execution.

Frequently asked questions

What is a commercial electricity bill audit?

A commercial electricity bill audit is a line-by-line reconciliation of every charge on a business electricity bill against the applicable contract, meter data, and TDSP tariff. It's distinct from a bill review (which typically just checks for gross errors) and from rate shopping (which compares different supply offers). An audit answers the question: is this specific bill accurate?

How do I audit my Texas business electricity bill?

The core process: gather your current bill, prior 12 months of bills, signed contract and EFL, applicable TDSP tariff, and interval data from Smart Meter Texas. Then verify each line in order: account identity, meter reads, REP energy charges, TDSP delivery charges, demand and kW, and taxes. Reconcile the sum against the billed total. This piece includes a full printable audit checklist.

What are all the charges on my commercial electricity bill?

A typical Texas commercial bill has three groups: REP charges (energy charge, base charge, contractual pass-throughs, any REP demand charge), TDSP delivery charges (customer charge, metering, distribution, TCRF, DCRF, EECRF, other riders), and regulatory/tax charges (PUC assessment, gross receipts reimbursement, sales tax). The exact line items vary by REP, TDSP, rate class, and contract structure.

Why is my Texas commercial electricity bill so high?

Common causes: a demand ratchet from a prior summer peak carrying forward, an estimated read that overstated usage, a rate class error, a missed tax exemption, a contract that expired and transitioned to a higher month-to-month rate, or a genuine operational change (new equipment, extended hours, weather). The audit process isolates which cause applies.

How do I spot errors on a Texas commercial electricity bill?

Compare each line to its source document. Energy charges to your signed contract. Delivery charges to the current TDSP tariff. Demand kW to your 15-minute interval data. Meter multiplier to the TDSP's meter registration. Any line that doesn't reconcile against its source is a candidate for investigation.

What is an ESI ID?

An ESI ID (Electric Service Identifier) is a 17-digit number starting with 10 that uniquely identifies a service delivery point in the ERCOT market. Every Texas electricity meter has an ESI ID. It's how ERCOT, your TDSP, and your REP all keep track of which meter belongs to which customer at which address.

What is a TDU delivery charge?

A TDU delivery charge (also called TDSP charge) is a regulated fee your local transmission and distribution utility charges to deliver electricity to your meter. It covers poles, wires, transformers, meters, and grid maintenance. TDU charges are set by PUCT-approved tariffs and passed through by your REP without markup, though your REP may present them differently on your bill.

What is a PUC assessment?

The PUC assessment is a statutory fee equal to 1/6 of 1% (approximately 0.1667%) of retail electric charges, used to fund the Public Utility Commission of Texas. It appears as a small line on every Texas electricity bill.

Can I dispute a commercial electricity charge in Texas?

Yes. Start with your REP's customer service and document the dispute in writing. If the REP fails to resolve a legitimate billing issue, escalate to the PUCT Customer Protection Division at 1-888-782-8477. Retain your bills, contract, tariff, interval data, and all correspondence.

How far back can I recover overcharges on a commercial electricity bill?

Recovery windows vary by REP and by contract terms, but 12 to 24 months is typical. Some errors (particularly meter multiplier errors) may be recoverable further back if well documented. Long-standing errors involving unclaimed tax exemptions may allow refund claims per the applicable tax statute.

What is the difference between a REP and a TDSP?

The REP (Retail Electric Provider) is the company you contract with to buy your electricity. Your REP is competitive and chosen by you. The TDSP (Transmission and Distribution Service Provider, also called TDU) is the regulated utility that physically delivers electricity to your meter. Your TDSP is determined by your service address; you can't choose it. Both appear on your bill: the REP bills the energy, the TDSP bills the delivery.

Should I use a bill analyzer tool or do the audit manually?

Both have their place. Our bill analyzer for Texas commercial electricity automates the initial reconciliation and flags likely errors quickly. A manual audit, using the checklist in this guide, is more thorough for complex accounts, multi-meter portfolios, or when you're investigating a specific suspected error. Many businesses run the analyzer monthly and a full manual audit annually.

What should I do if my bill audit finds a large error?

Document the error with source documents (contract, tariff, meter data, prior bills), contact your REP with a formal dispute in writing, request a written response with expected timeline, and escalate to the PUCT if the REP fails to resolve within a reasonable window. For very large errors, engaging an experienced energy consultant or attorney may improve recovery.

Where to go from here

If you want to move from a monthly "look at the total" habit to a real audit process:

1. Pull your last 12 bills, your contract, and your interval data. Everything else builds on these documents.
2. Run one complete audit using the checklist in this guide. Expect to spend two to four hours the first time; subsequent audits go faster.
3. Automate the monthly check. Our bill analyzer for Texas commercial electricity provides monthly line-item verification without the full manual walkthrough.
4. For multi-site portfolios, the audit process compounds across every ESI ID. Property managers and multi-location operators benefit most from systematic auditing. Sector-specific procurement guidance is in our Texas commercial real estate electricity procurement resource and our energy strategy by industry hub.

Electric Decisions works exclusively with Texas commercial buyers on supplier-neutral procurement and bill auditing. We do not sell electricity. We run structured RFPs, benchmark quotes against the live ERCOT forward curve, and redline contracts in plain English so that the person signing understands exactly what they're agreeing to. The documented 5-step energy procurement process is the standard we run against.