Roughly 30% to 50% of a Texas commercial electricity bill is not for electricity at all. It's for the poles, wires, transformers, and meters that get electricity from the generator to your building. Those charges are called TDSP delivery charges in Texas (also called TDU charges), and they show up on every commercial bill in the state's deregulated market regardless of which Retail Electric Provider (REP) you buy from.
Understanding how TDSP delivery charges work is the difference between reading your bill and reading it correctly. A business that shops on the headline ¢/kWh energy rate without factoring in the delivery side ends up surprised when the effective all-in rate is 40% higher than what the salesperson quoted. A business that knows how the tariff is structured can spot when a rider changed effective date, when a rate class is wrong, or when a demand-related component is being calculated on the wrong billing determinant.
This guide covers all five major Texas TDSP rate territories: Oncor, CenterPoint, AEP Texas Central, AEP Texas North, and TNMP. It walks through what the charges represent, how they differ between small and large commercial accounts, how they compare across the five territories, and where to verify current rates against the actual PUCT-approved tariff.
What are TDSP delivery charges?
A TDSP (Transmission and Distribution Service Provider) delivery charge is a regulated fee your local utility charges to deliver electricity to your meter over its physical infrastructure.
The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) uses the terms "TDSP" and "TDU" (Transmission and Distribution Utility) interchangeably. Both refer to the same regulated utility, which owns and operates the poles, wires, substations, transformers, and meters between the ERCOT wholesale grid and your building.
TDSP vs TDU vs REP
Three entities appear on every Texas commercial electricity bill:
Retail Electric Provider (REP)
The company you contract with to buy electricity. You choose your REP. This is competitive; there are more than 46 REPs serving commercial customers in Texas. Your REP is who you signed a contract with, who sends you the bill, and who provides customer service on the supply side.
Transmission and Distribution Service Provider (TDSP or TDU)
The regulated utility that physically delivers electricity to your meter. You do not choose your TDSP. It is determined entirely by the geographic location of your service address. If your business is in Dallas, your TDSP is Oncor. If your business is in Houston, your TDSP is CenterPoint. If the power at your building goes out, you call your TDSP, not your REP.
ERCOT
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas operates the wholesale grid, matching generation to load in real time and administering the wholesale electricity market. ERCOT does not bill retail customers directly, but ERCOT-level costs (particularly transmission) flow through your TDSP's tariff and appear on your bill.
The key point: TDSP delivery charges are the same regardless of which REP you choose. The tariff is set by the PUCT, filed by the utility, and passed through your REP without markup. Switching REPs does not change your delivery charge. It only changes the supply portion of your bill and how the delivery portion is presented.
Why utilities charge for delivery
Every kilowatt-hour that reaches your meter travels through billions of dollars of infrastructure: high-voltage transmission lines from generation sites, substations that step voltage down, distribution feeders across neighborhoods, service lines to your building, and the meter itself. Building and maintaining that infrastructure has fixed and variable costs. The TDSP tariff is how those costs get recovered from the customers who use the infrastructure.
Rates are approved by the PUCT and posted at puct.texas.gov under the Electric Industry Rate Information section. Each TDSP files its tariff separately, and each customer class within each TDSP has its own rate schedule.
The five Texas TDSP rate territories
The ERCOT competitive electricity market has four TDSP legal entities but five commercial rate territories, because AEP Texas operates two distinct rate divisions.
1. Oncor Electric Delivery
Service area: Dallas-Fort Worth metro, plus much of North Texas, West Texas, and Central Texas. This includes Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Plano, Frisco, Irving, Garland, McKinney, Wichita Falls, Waco, and Midland-Odessa. Oncor is the largest TDSP in Texas by customer count and geographic footprint.
Website: oncor.com
2. CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric
Service area: The greater Houston metropolitan area, including Houston, Sugar Land, Galveston, and the surrounding Gulf Coast. CenterPoint serves the densest urban commercial load in Texas.
Website: centerpointenergy.com
3. AEP Texas Central
Service area: South Texas and the Gulf Coast, including Corpus Christi, McAllen, Laredo, Harlingen, Brownsville, and the Rio Grande Valley.
Website: aeptexas.com
4. AEP Texas North
Service area: West Texas and parts of Central Texas, including Abilene, San Angelo, Vernon, and the Big Country region.
Website: aeptexas.com
Note: AEP Texas Central and AEP Texas North are operated under one legal entity (AEP Texas Inc.) but file separate tariffs and charge different rates to reflect their different service territories, load densities, and cost structures. When you see commercial rate comparisons that show "AEP Texas" as a single row, they are collapsing two distinct rate territories.
5. Texas-New Mexico Power (TNMP)
Service area: Several non-contiguous service pockets across Texas, including Lewisville (North Texas), Texas City (Gulf Coast), and portions of West Texas and the Gulf Coast. Because TNMP's service territory is fragmented rather than contiguous, its per-customer cost recovery differs from the contiguous urban systems.
Website: tnmp.com
For a full breakdown of each service territory and how each utility structures its tariff, our TDSP overview for Texas commercial customers covers each one in detail, and 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.
How TDSP delivery charges are calculated
The general formula depends on whether your account is small commercial (non-demand-metered) or larger commercial (demand-metered).
Small commercial formula
For small commercial accounts below the demand threshold:
Monthly TDSP charge = Fixed monthly charge + (kWh × per-kWh delivery rate)
Where the fixed monthly charge includes the customer charge and metering charge combined, and the per-kWh rate combines the distribution system charge, TCRF, DCRF, EECRF, and applicable riders into a single volumetric figure.
Large commercial formula
For accounts above the demand threshold:
Monthly TDSP charge = Fixed monthly charge + (kWh × per-kWh delivery rate) + (Billing kW × per-kW demand rate) + Applicable riders
The demand component becomes the dominant piece of the delivery bill once your account moves onto a demand-metered schedule. This is why crossing the demand threshold changes not just the amount of your delivery bill but the entire structure.
The individual tariff components
Every TDSP tariff decomposes the total charge into individual line items. The most common:
- Customer charge: A fixed monthly fee per meter that covers billing, customer service, and account administration costs.
- Metering charge: A fixed monthly fee that covers the physical meter, its installation, and its maintenance.
- Distribution system charge: The core delivery charge. Billed against kWh for small commercial accounts and against billing kW for demand-metered commercial accounts.
- Transmission Cost Recovery Factor (TCRF): Passes through changes in wholesale transmission costs (including ERCOT 4CP-related allocations) between rate cases. Can be billed against kWh, NCP kW, or 4CP kW depending on the tariff and rate class.
- Distribution Cost Recovery Factor (DCRF): Passes through changes in distribution infrastructure investment between rate cases. Usually billed against billing kW for demand-metered accounts.
- Energy Efficiency Cost Recovery Factor (EECRF): Recovers the costs of utility-run energy efficiency programs. Typically billed against kWh.
- Nuclear Decommissioning Charge (NDC): A small charge that funds the eventual decommissioning of nuclear generation facilities.
- Rider RCE (Rate Case Expense): Recovers utility costs incurred during PUCT rate cases.
- Storm restoration or emergency-facility charges: Applied when the PUCT authorizes cost recovery for a specific weather event or emergency capital investment.
- Competitive metering credit: A credit that reduces the metering charge for accounts where a party other than the TDSP owns the meter.
The exact set of components and their names vary by utility. What matters for a Texas commercial buyer is that the sum of these components (plus the fixed charges) is what your TDSP tariff produces as your delivery cost.
Small commercial vs large commercial rate schedules
This is where most TDSP comparisons published by other sites go wrong. They present a single "TDU rate" as if all commercial customers are billed the same way. In practice, TDSP tariffs split commercial customers into at least two rate classes with different structures.
The threshold
Four of the five TDSPs use a 10 kW demand threshold:
- Oncor
- CenterPoint (measured in kVA rather than kW; see below)
- AEP Texas Central
- AEP Texas North
TNMP uses a 5 kW threshold: TNMP's tariff moves accounts onto its demand-metered rate schedule at greater than 5 kW, which is materially lower than the other four TDSPs. A small business operating in Lewisville (TNMP territory) can cross into demand-metered billing at a peak demand that would still leave a Houston or Dallas business on the non-demand schedule.
Below the threshold
Accounts below the applicable threshold are billed on a "Secondary Service Less Than or Equal To" schedule. The structure is simple: a fixed monthly charge plus a per-kWh rate. There is no separate demand charge. If your peak demand grows above the threshold, your TDSP moves you to the demand-metered schedule.
Above the threshold
Accounts above the threshold are billed on a "Secondary Service Greater Than" schedule. The structure is more complex: fixed monthly charges plus a small per-kWh volumetric component plus a substantial per-kW demand component plus applicable riders. Demand charges dominate the bill.
The kVA distinction for CenterPoint
CenterPoint uses kVA (kilovolt-amperes) as its billing determinant on commercial rate schedules, rather than kW. Two facilities can have identical kW loads but different kVA loads if their power factors differ. Power factor is the ratio of real power (kW) to apparent power (kVA); a facility with poor power factor draws more apparent power than its real power alone would suggest, and CenterPoint bills the apparent power.
This is not a distinction most competitor articles make. It matters because a Houston facility with poor power factor (large induction motors without capacitor correction, for example) can end up paying substantially more in delivery charges than an identical facility in Dallas with the same kW load. Power factor correction equipment can pay back quickly for CenterPoint customers with heavy motor loads.
Texas commercial TDSP rates compared
The following comparison presents commercial TDSP delivery rates across all five territories, effective April 30, 2026, compiled from TXU's published commercial rate schedule reference (which draws from PUCT-approved tariffs). These rates apply to the Secondary Service Greater Than 10 kW schedule (Secondary Service Greater Than 5 kW for TNMP).
Large commercial rate comparison (demand-metered)
- Oncor Electric Delivery: $32.43 fixed monthly + 0.055¢ per-kWh delivery + $11.27 per-kW demand. A 100 kW / 30,000 kWh account pays approximately $1,176.10 in total delivery cost per month.
- CenterPoint Energy: $13.41 fixed monthly + 0.093¢ per-kWh delivery + $10.10 per-kW demand. A 100 kW / 30,000 kWh account pays approximately $1,051.31 per month.
- AEP Texas Central: $22.00 fixed monthly + 0.074¢ per-kWh delivery + $12.79 per-kW demand. A 100 kW / 30,000 kWh account pays approximately $1,323.49 per month.
- AEP Texas North: $22.00 fixed monthly + 0.074¢ per-kWh delivery + $12.38 per-kW demand. A 100 kW / 30,000 kWh account pays approximately $1,282.49 per month.
- Texas-New Mexico Power (TNMP): $24.56 fixed monthly + 0.156¢ per-kWh delivery + $14.98 per-kW demand. A 100 kW / 30,000 kWh account pays approximately $1,569.34 per month.
Small commercial rate comparison (non-demand-metered)
Approximate rates for accounts below the demand threshold on Secondary Service Less Than or Equal To schedules:
- Oncor: approximately $6.87 fixed monthly + ~4.587¢ per-kWh delivery. Threshold: accounts at or below 10 kW.
- CenterPoint: approximately $4.96 fixed monthly + ~3.898¢ per-kWh delivery. Threshold: accounts at or below 10 kVA (note: kVA, not kW).
- AEP Texas Central: approximately $5.66 fixed monthly + ~4.452¢ per-kWh delivery. Threshold: accounts at or below 10 kW.
- AEP Texas North: approximately $5.66 fixed monthly + ~4.316¢ per-kWh delivery. Threshold: accounts at or below 10 kW.
- TNMP: approximately $8.36 fixed monthly + ~7.442¢ per-kWh delivery. Threshold: accounts at or below 5 kW (a materially lower threshold than the other four TDSPs).
Important qualifications
- These rates are effective April 30, 2026. TDSP tariffs change with PUCT-approved filings. Verify the current tariff at puct.texas.gov or on the applicable utility's tariff page before using these figures for a procurement decision.
- Rates are aggregated. The per-kW and per-kWh figures combine multiple tariff line items (distribution system charge, TCRF, DCRF, EECRF, and applicable riders) into a single figure. Your actual bill will show these components broken out separately.
- TDSP tariffs typically update on March 1 and September 1 of each year. Interim rider adjustments (particularly TCRF and DCRF) can happen outside those windows through PUCT-approved filings.
- Primary service, transmission service, and lighting service customers sit on different schedules with different structures. This comparison applies only to standard secondary service.
- CenterPoint bills on kVA. For facilities with poor power factor, effective delivery costs are higher than the kW-based comparison suggests.
Worked example: 100 kW, 30,000 kWh across all five TDSPs
To make the differences concrete, consider a business consuming 30,000 kWh in a 30-day month with a peak demand of 100 kW. This is a mid-sized commercial account (restaurant, small retail chain location, small manufacturing operation) that has crossed the demand threshold.
The math for each TDSP
Oncor:
- Fixed monthly: $32.43
- Volumetric: 30,000 × $0.000546 = $16.38
- Demand: 100 × $11.27 = $1,127.29
- Total: $1,176.10
CenterPoint Energy:
- Fixed monthly: $13.41
- Volumetric: 30,000 × $0.000930 = $27.90
- Demand: 100 × $10.10 = $1,010.00
- Total: $1,051.31
AEP Texas Central:
- Fixed monthly: $22.00
- Volumetric: 30,000 × $0.000743 = $22.22
- Demand: 100 × $12.79 = $1,279.27
- Total: $1,323.49
AEP Texas North:
- Fixed monthly: $22.00
- Volumetric: 30,000 × $0.000743 = $22.22
- Demand: 100 × $12.38 = $1,238.27
- Total: $1,282.49
TNMP:
- Fixed monthly: $24.56
- Volumetric: 30,000 × $0.001561 = $46.83
- Demand: 100 × $14.98 = $1,497.95
- Total: $1,569.34
The spread
The same 100 kW / 30,000 kWh business would pay:
- $1,051 on CenterPoint (the lowest)
- $1,569 on TNMP (the highest)
A $518 per month spread, or roughly $6,200 per year difference in delivery costs alone, for identical energy consumption at the same peak demand. This is before any REP energy charges, riders, or taxes.
For a business considering site selection across Texas metros, that spread compounds across every location. For a business already located and unable to change its TDSP, it argues for very careful demand management, particularly in the higher-cost territories.
Why the rates differ
The variation across the five TDSPs reflects real differences in each utility's cost structure. It is not arbitrary.
Load density
CenterPoint serves the concentrated Houston metro area. High load density means each mile of distribution line carries more customers, spreading fixed infrastructure costs across a larger base. This helps explain CenterPoint's comparatively low delivery costs.
TNMP serves fragmented non-contiguous service pockets. Lower load density means fewer customers per mile of infrastructure, and higher per-customer cost recovery. This helps explain TNMP's higher delivery costs.
Oncor serves the largest and most varied territory: dense metro (Dallas-Fort Worth) alongside less dense rural North and West Texas. Its rates reflect a blended cost structure.
Rate case history
Each TDSP files rate cases with the PUCT on its own schedule, and each case is evaluated based on the utility's revenue requirement, capital investment, and cost of service. Different rate case outcomes at different times produce different current tariff levels.
Rider mechanisms
TCRF, DCRF, and other riders provide interim recovery of specific cost changes between rate cases. Each TDSP's rider levels are set separately and can change on different schedules. A utility that has recently completed a large distribution investment program may have a higher DCRF than one that hasn't. A utility that has seen wholesale transmission cost increases may have a higher TCRF.
Customer class allocation
Each rate case includes an allocation of the utility's cost of service across customer classes: residential, small commercial, large commercial, industrial, and lighting. The specific allocations differ across utilities based on load studies and regulatory decisions in each case.
Why your TDSP charge can change during a fixed-rate REP contract
A common source of confusion: a business signs a fixed-rate energy contract with a REP, then sees the delivery portion of the bill change mid-contract, and calls the REP to complain about a rate change. The REP hasn't changed the rate. The TDSP tariff changed.
TDSP tariffs update typically on March 1 and September 1 each year, with occasional interim rider adjustments. When the tariff changes, every REP passes through the new tariff amount starting with the effective date. This is not a contract violation; a fixed-rate contract fixes the energy supply rate, not the regulated pass-through delivery rate.
A well-structured commercial REP contract will explicitly state that TDSP charges are pass-throughs, that any changes to the regulated tariff will be reflected on the bill, and that the REP is not responsible for changes to the regulated tariff. Reading the contract's pass-through clause carefully at signing prevents surprise later.
For a walkthrough of the contract mechanics that determine what a REP is and isn't responsible for, our overview of Texas commercial electricity procurement for small businesses covers the contract terms that affect this.
Do commercial customers pay different TDSP rates?
Yes. Depending on the customer's peak demand, meter type, service voltage, and end-use classification, different rate schedules apply. Common Texas TDSP commercial rate schedules include:
- Secondary Service Less Than or Equal To 10 kW (Less Than or Equal To 5 kW for TNMP): small commercial
- Secondary Service Greater Than 10 kW (Greater Than 5 kW for TNMP): larger commercial with demand billing
- Primary Service: for accounts taking service at primary distribution voltage (typically above 100 kW to 300 kW depending on utility)
- Transmission Service: for very large accounts taking service directly at transmission voltage
- Lighting Service: for street lighting and outdoor lighting accounts
- Interruptible or Curtailable Service: for eligible large customers with load reduction capability
Each schedule has its own tariff, and the price differences between them can be substantial. A large commercial customer that qualifies for primary service can substantially reduce its delivery costs by upgrading the service transformer, though the capital investment must be evaluated against the delivery savings.
Verifying that your account is on the correct rate schedule is one of the highest-return items in a full commercial electricity bill audit for Texas businesses. Being billed on the wrong schedule can persist for years without anyone catching it.
Cities and metros by TDSP
The following gives the primary TDSP serving each major Texas commercial market:
Oncor territory:
- Dallas commercial electricity rates
- Fort Worth commercial electricity rates
- Arlington commercial electricity rates
- Plano commercial electricity rates
- Frisco commercial electricity rates
- McKinney commercial electricity rates
- Irving commercial electricity rates
- Garland commercial electricity rates
- Wichita Falls commercial electricity rates
- Lubbock commercial electricity rates (following the ERCOT integration transition)
CenterPoint Energy territory:
AEP Texas Central territory:
- Corpus Christi commercial electricity rates
- Laredo commercial electricity rates
- Brownsville commercial electricity rates
AEP Texas North territory:
- Abilene, San Angelo, and West Texas markets
TNMP territory:
- Lewisville, Texas City, and non-contiguous service pockets
Austin and San Antonio: These metros are served by municipal utilities (Austin Energy and CPS Energy respectively) that are not part of the deregulated market. Businesses in these cities cannot choose their REP and are billed under a bundled rate structure. Our Austin commercial electricity market overview and San Antonio commercial electricity market overview cover the specifics of these municipal territories.
How to verify your TDSP charges
Whether the TDSP charges on your bill are correct is straightforward to verify.
1. Identify your TDSP and rate schedule
Look at the delivery portion of your bill. Your TDSP name appears on the bill (Oncor, CenterPoint, AEP Texas, or TNMP). The rate class or rate schedule is also typically indicated (for example, "Sec Svc Gtr Than 10 kW" or similar).
2. Find the current tariff
Go to your TDSP's website and locate its current tariff document. Every utility publishes its complete tariff, with effective dates, on its rates or tariffs page:
- Oncor: oncor.com under Rates & Tariffs
- CenterPoint: centerpointenergy.com under Business Rates & Tariffs
- AEP Texas: aeptexas.com under Rates
- TNMP: tnmp.com under Rates
The PUCT also maintains rate information at puct.texas.gov.
3. Match the tariff components to your bill
Each line on the delivery side of your bill should correspond to a component in the tariff. Match them one by one:
- Customer charge → matches the tariff's stated customer charge
- Metering charge → matches the tariff's metering charge
- Distribution system charge → matches (tariff rate × billing determinant)
- TCRF → matches (current TCRF rate × billing determinant)
- DCRF → matches (current DCRF rate × billing determinant)
- EECRF → matches (kWh × EECRF rate)
- Any other riders → match their applicable rates
4. Verify the effective date
Every tariff has an effective date. Verify that the version you're comparing against was actually in effect during your billing period. If your bill spans two tariff versions (for example, a March 1 change occurred mid-cycle), the bill should show pro-rated charges reflecting both.
5. Cross-check with the bill analyzer
Our bill analyzer for Texas commercial electricity automates the tariff comparison and flags any component that doesn't reconcile against the current effective rate. This is faster than manual verification for monthly checks; a full manual audit is still worth doing annually.
A note on wholesale nodal pricing versus retail delivery
Occasionally, TDSP delivery charges are conflated with ERCOT's wholesale "nodal delivery" pricing model. These are not the same thing.
ERCOT operates a nodal wholesale market, where generators are paid and loads are settled at specific electrical "nodes" on the transmission grid, with prices that vary by location and time. This nodal pricing affects the wholesale cost of energy that REPs face when they buy for retail customers.
TDSP delivery charges, by contrast, are the retail-facing regulated charge for physical delivery over the distribution and transmission network. They are set by PUCT-approved tariffs, not by wholesale nodal prices, and they are the same for every REP customer in a given TDSP territory and rate class.
The wholesale nodal market affects your REP's costs (and therefore, indirectly, the energy portion of your bill). It does not directly affect the delivery portion of your bill.
Frequently asked questions
What are TDSP delivery charges in Texas?
TDSP delivery charges are regulated fees your local utility (Oncor, CenterPoint, AEP Texas, or TNMP) charges to deliver electricity to your meter over its physical infrastructure. They cover poles, wires, transformers, meters, and grid maintenance. TDSP delivery charges are set by PUCT-approved tariffs and passed through by every REP without markup.
What is the difference between a TDU and a TDSP?
There is no functional difference. "TDU" (Transmission and Distribution Utility) and "TDSP" (Transmission and Distribution Service Provider) refer to the same regulated utility. The PUCT and industry participants use both terms interchangeably.
How are TDSP charges calculated?
The formula depends on whether your account is small commercial or larger commercial. Small commercial (below the demand threshold) is billed a fixed monthly charge plus a per-kWh rate. Larger commercial (above the threshold) is billed a fixed monthly charge, a small per-kWh volumetric component, a per-kW demand component (usually the largest piece), and applicable riders. The exact rate components are published in each utility's PUCT-approved tariff.
Do commercial customers pay different TDSP rates?
Yes. Commercial customers are assigned to different rate schedules based on peak demand, meter type, service voltage, and end use. Small commercial accounts (below 10 kW, or 5 kW for TNMP) pay a simpler structure. Larger commercial accounts (above the threshold) pay a demand-based structure with substantially higher fixed and demand components. Primary service and transmission service customers pay on entirely different schedules.
How much are TDSP delivery charges in Texas?
For a mid-sized commercial account (100 kW peak, 30,000 kWh monthly) on the Secondary Service Greater Than 10 kW schedule, TDSP delivery charges range from approximately $1,050 (CenterPoint) to $1,570 (TNMP) per month based on rates effective April 30, 2026. Verify current rates against the applicable tariff before using these figures for a procurement decision.
What is the difference between Oncor and CenterPoint delivery charges?
For a 100 kW / 30,000 kWh commercial account effective April 30, 2026, Oncor delivery totaled roughly $1,176 and CenterPoint totaled roughly $1,051 per month. CenterPoint's rates are among the lowest of the five TDSPs, reflecting the high load density of the Houston metro. Oncor's rates are moderate. CenterPoint bills on kVA rather than kW, which affects facilities with poor power factor.
Can I choose my TDSP in Texas?
No. Your TDSP is determined entirely by the physical location of your service address. Businesses in Dallas-Fort Worth are served by Oncor. Businesses in Houston are served by CenterPoint. Businesses in Corpus Christi are served by AEP Texas Central. And so on. You can choose your REP, but you cannot choose your TDSP.
How often do TDSP charges change?
TDSP tariffs typically update on March 1 and September 1 each year. Interim rider adjustments (particularly TCRF and DCRF) can happen outside those windows through PUCT-approved filings. Your delivery charges can change during a fixed-rate REP contract without any change to your energy contract.
Why does TNMP charge more per kWh than the other TDSPs?
TNMP serves fragmented non-contiguous service pockets across Texas rather than a contiguous urban system. Lower customer density per mile of infrastructure means higher per-customer cost recovery. TNMP also uses a lower demand threshold (5 kW instead of 10 kW), which moves accounts onto the demand-metered schedule earlier than the other TDSPs.
What is the difference between AEP Texas Central and AEP Texas North?
AEP Texas Inc. is one legal entity that operates two separate rate divisions. AEP Texas Central serves South Texas and the Gulf Coast (Corpus Christi, McAllen, Laredo). AEP Texas North serves West Texas and parts of Central Texas (Abilene, San Angelo). Each division files a separate tariff with the PUCT and charges different rates. Do not treat them as a single "AEP" rate.
Does switching electricity providers change my TDSP delivery charge?
No. TDSP delivery charges are regulated pass-throughs set by PUCT-approved tariffs. They are identical across every REP that serves customers in a given TDSP territory and rate class. Switching REPs changes the energy supply portion of your bill and how the delivery portion is presented, but the underlying regulated delivery rate is the same.
What is a rate schedule?
A rate schedule is the specific tariff that governs how a particular class of customer is billed for delivery service. Each TDSP publishes multiple rate schedules covering residential, small commercial, larger commercial (with sub-schedules for different demand levels), primary service, transmission service, and specialized categories like lighting. Your account is assigned to one rate schedule based on its characteristics.
What is a metering charge?
A metering charge is a fixed monthly fee that recovers the cost of your electricity meter, its installation, its maintenance, and the meter reading process. It appears as a separate line on most commercial TDSP bills. For accounts where a party other than the TDSP owns the meter (competitive metering arrangements), a "competitive metering credit" reduces the metering charge.
How do I know which TDSP serves my business?
Your TDSP name appears on your electricity bill. If you don't have a current bill, our ESI ID lookup for Texas commercial addresses identifies your TDSP based on your service address, along with your ESI ID (Electric Service Identifier). The TDSP is also determined by ZIP code for most areas.
Where to go from here
If you want to understand the delivery portion of your Texas commercial electricity spend:
- Identify your TDSP and rate schedule. Check your current bill for the utility name and the applicable rate class.
- Locate the current tariff. Every TDSP publishes its complete tariff at its own website and with the PUCT at puct.texas.gov. Verify the effective date matches your billing period.
- Reconcile your delivery charges line by line. Our commercial electricity bill audit process for Texas businesses covers each verification step in detail.
- Verify your rate class. Being billed on the wrong schedule (a common error, particularly for accounts whose demand has changed) can persist for years. Confirm your current classification matches your current load profile.
- Compare REP offers on total delivered cost, not headline supply rate. The full effective ¢/kWh, including TDSP delivery, demand charges, riders, and taxes, is what determines your actual monthly bill. Our commercial electricity comparison for Texas businesses benchmarks REP quotes against the live ERCOT forward curve.
Electric Decisions works exclusively with Texas commercial buyers on supplier-neutral procurement and bill auditing. We do not sell electricity. Every quote we source discloses margin transparently and specifies exactly how the TDSP delivery pass-through is handled. If you'd like to see how commercial procurement works when the person quoting you isn't also the person you're buying from, the documented 5-step energy procurement process for Texas commercial buyers is where to start.