Power to Choose is the Public Utility Commission of Texas's official retail electricity comparison site. By state law, every licensed Retail Electric Provider operating in the deregulated parts of Texas must list their plans there. That makes it the most complete catalog of REP offers anywhere — and also a remarkably user-hostile experience if you don't know what to filter for.
This guide walks through how to use it like someone who has shopped electricity in Texas a dozen times.
Step One: Confirm You Can Actually Shop
Type your ZIP code into the homepage box. If results come back, you're in deregulated Texas — served by Oncor, CenterPoint, AEP Texas Central, AEP Texas North, or TNMP. You can pick any licensed REP that serves your area.
If you see "your area is not deregulated," you're in El Paso Electric, Austin Energy, CPS Energy (San Antonio), or one of the municipal/cooperative service areas. You have one provider. Power to Choose can't help you and neither can a REP — your rates come from the municipal utility's tariff.
About 85% of Texas addresses are deregulated. About 15% are not. The geography is messier than people assume.
Step Two: Set the Right Sort
By default Power to Choose sorts by lowest rate at 1,000 kWh per month. This is the most-clicked filter and also the most manipulated. REPs design plans specifically to look optimal at 1,000 kWh — and brutal at 500 or 2,000 kWh.
The fix is in two parts:
A) Sort by your actual usage tier. Pull your annual kWh from your most recent bill and divide by 12. If you average 750 kWh, sort by the 500 kWh column. If you average 1,500 kWh, sort by the 2,000 kWh column. Plans look dramatically different across these tiers.
B) Filter to fixed-rate only. Variable and indexed plans dominate the cheap end of the list. They are not what you want unless you have a specific reason. Click the "Plan Type" filter and check only "Fixed."
Step Three: Read the Fact Label, Not the Rate
Every Power to Choose listing has a link to the plan's Electricity Facts Label (EFL) — a one-page disclosure mandated by PUCT rule §25.475. The headline rate on the search results page is a marketing number. The EFL is the contract.
Five things to check on every EFL before you enroll:
1) The rate at three usage levels. The EFL must show the all-in rate (energy charge + TDU charges + base fees, expressed in cents per kWh) at 500, 1,000, and 2,000 kWh. If the spread between these three numbers is more than 1 cent, the plan has a usage-based credit or penalty structure. Make sure your actual usage falls in the favorable band.
2) The base monthly charge. A $9.95 monthly fee on a 500 kWh household adds 2 cents per kWh to your effective rate. The same fee on a 2,000 kWh household adds only half a cent. Small users hate base charges. Heavy users mostly don't notice.
3) Minimum usage fees and bill credits. Many cheap-headline plans have $9.95 monthly fees that are waived if you use 1,000+ kWh, OR a $50 bill credit when you hit a usage band, OR a "free nights" feature that bills weekday-day usage at a premium. Read the bullet point under "Special Pricing Features" carefully.
4) The Early Termination Fee. Standard ETFs range from $0 to $295. Tiered structures are common ($295 in year one, $150 in year two). A plan with no ETF is friendlier but the rate often runs 1 to 2 cents higher.
5) The contract term. 12, 18, 24, and 36 months are the standard offerings. A few REPs offer 60-month contracts. Match the term to your tolerance for re-shopping plus your prediction about where wholesale prices are heading.
The Tricks to Recognize
Bill credit traps. "9 cents per kWh!" with a $100 bill credit at exactly 1,000-2,000 kWh in a month. Use 999 kWh and your effective rate is 18 cents. Use 2,001 kWh and you forfeit it again. These plans punish month-to-month variance.
Teaser rates. "Introductory" or "first 3 months" rates that revert to a variable rate. The EFL is required to disclose the post-intro rate. Read it.
TDU charge confusion. Some REPs quote "supply only" rates. Power to Choose generally shows all-in rates including TDU pass-throughs, but a few listings break out delivery charges separately. Make sure you're comparing total cents per kWh, not just the supply portion.
Limited-time promotions. "Save $200 in your first year" often refers to a bill credit only available if you pay on time every month and stay enrolled the full term. Miss one auto-pay and the credit evaporates.
Free Nights/Free Weekends. These plans cost much more during the billed hours to offset the "free" hours. If your usage doesn't actually concentrate in the free window, you lose money. Check your hourly usage with a Smart Meter Texas download before signing.
How to Find the Best Plan in 10 Minutes
1. Enter your ZIP, set "Fixed Rate" filter, sort by the kWh tier closest to your average use. 2. Skip the top 5 results — they're almost always traps. Look at results 6 through 15. 3. Open EFLs in new tabs for any plan with a rate within 0.5 cents of the cheapest, a contract length you want, and no usage-band gimmicks. 4. Confirm: base charge under $10, ETF under $200, all three usage-tier rates within 1 cent of each other. 5. Cross-reference the REP's customer rating on Power to Choose (it's required disclosure under PUC rule). 6. Enroll online with the REP directly. Don't pay through aggregator sites that add commissions.
A Word on Aggregators and Marketplace Sites
Several private comparison sites — ChooseEnergy, EnergyOgre, ElectricityRates.com, ComparePower — pull Power to Choose data and add their own analysis or recommendations. Some are honest. Some collect commissions from REPs and tilt rankings accordingly.
If a private site's "best deals" don't appear in Power to Choose's top 20 at your usage tier, ask why. The PUCT-mandated disclosure on Power to Choose is the floor of trust.
Re-Shop Once a Year
The single highest-ROI habit in Texas electricity is calendar-based re-shopping. Set a reminder 30 days before your contract ends. Don't auto-renew. Most REPs flip you to a month-to-month rate that runs 30 to 60% above market the moment your fixed term expires — and that variable rate is where REPs make their margin.
Power to Choose is the tool. Used right, it saves a typical Texas household $200 to $600 per year. Used wrong, it just makes you feel like you're saving.