Electricity rates in Baytown, TX
A refinery town on Galveston Bay, Baytown sits in CenterPoint's deregulated territory — with real hurricane exposure that makes both savings and backup worth a look.
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Written and reviewed by the Base Power team · Last updated May 27, 2026
Quick answer
Baytown is a deregulated market served by CenterPoint Energy, so you choose your retail provider while CenterPoint owns the wires. On Galveston Bay with hurricane and storm-surge history, Baytown is a place where home backup is tangible. Base charges a flat 8¢/kWh energy rate plus CenterPoint delivery and a flat monthly membership.
Today's rates
Baytown rate snapshot
Your bill has two parts: the energy you buy from a retail provider, and delivery charges set by CenterPoint Energy and passed through without markup. Here's how that looks today.
Base energy charge
8¢ /kWh
Advertised flat rate, plus a flat $19–$29/mo membership.
CenterPoint delivery
5¢ /kWh
+ $4.9/mo, PUCT-approved (March 1, 2026). Same for every provider.
Texas average rate
16.39¢ /kWh
Below the U.S. average of 18.83¢/kWh (EIA, 2026).
Typical Texas bill
$164 /mo
At ~1,096 kWh/mo (EIA). Baytown summers run higher.
Rates and figures last reviewed May 27, 2026. Base's energy charge is its advertised rate; exact, usage-based pricing is in the Electricity Facts Label. See your exact rate →
The real question
What should you pay in Baytown?
There's no single "right" number — it depends on your home, your usage, and your plan. But a lot of Texans pay more than they expect, and it's usually not the headline rate's fault. Many plans advertise a low rate that only applies inside a narrow usage band, or hand back a "bill credit" only if you land on exactly the right kilowatt-hours. Miss the threshold and the effective rate jumps.
The honest way to know what you should pay is to compare the all-in cost — energy plus CenterPoint delivery plus any fees — at your actual usage. Base removes the guesswork: one flat 8¢/kWh energy charge and a flat monthly membership, with no teaser rates and no bill-credit games.
The wires
Who delivers your power in Baytown?
CenterPoint Energy owns and maintains the poles, wires, and meter that deliver electricity across the Greater Houston area. CenterPoint doesn't sell electricity and you don't choose it — it's assigned by your address, and it restores power after storms no matter which retail provider you use.
CenterPoint Energy
Serves Greater Houston and much of the Texas Gulf Coast.
- Report an outage
- CenterPoint outage map · 800-332-7143
- Finding your ESID
- CenterPoint ESIIDs are 17-digit numbers that typically begin with 1008901.
Local context
How electricity rates work in Baytown
Baytown is defined by the ExxonMobil Baytown Complex, one of the world's largest refining and petrochemical sites, operating on the Houston Ship Channel since 1920. It's a working energy town of about 86,000 people on the eastern edge of Harris County.
Power is delivered by CenterPoint Energy — the same utility that serves Houston — and the retail market is deregulated, so you choose your provider. But on the bay, electricity is also about resilience: hurricane storm surge and evacuations are part of life here.
Why are Baytown bills highest in summer?
Baytown sits on Galveston Bay in the humid Greater Houston climate — hot, sticky summers where air conditioning runs hard for months. Coastal humidity keeps the cooling season long, which keeps bills elevated well beyond midsummer.
Baytown, the grid, and backup power
Baytown sits on Galveston Bay, where Hurricane Alicia drove a 12-foot storm tide in 1983 and voluntary evacuations were recommended during Hurricane Laura in 2020 — and it's on the same CenterPoint grid hit by Beryl and the derecho in 2024. CenterPoint handles restoration for everyone. A home battery is a separate product that keeps your own home powered during an outage, which is why coastal homeowners pair it with their electricity plan.
Apples to apples
How Base compares in Baytown
Every retail provider in CenterPoint territory passes through the same regulated delivery charges. The difference is how they price energy — and whether the rate you see is the rate you get.
Flat & clear | Typical fixed-rate planMost REP offers | Bill-credit / tiered plan“Teaser” pricing | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy charge | Flat 8¢/kWh | Fixed ¢/kWh | Low only in a usage band |
| Monthly charges | Flat $19–$29 membership | Base / min-usage fees | Bill credits at set usage |
| Same effective rate at any usage | yes | yes | no |
| No usage-threshold surprises | yes | yes | no |
| Delivery charges passed through with no markup | yes | yes | yes |
| Optional whole-home battery backup | yes | no | no |
| Bottom line | Your exact cost depends on your usage — always compare the EFL before you sign up. | ||
You can obtain important standardized information that will allow you to compare this product with other offers. Contact Base Power at 512-518-1009 or basepowercompany.com.
Three steps
How to find your best rate in Baytown
- 1
Confirm your utility is CenterPoint
In Baytown, CenterPoint delivers your power. That sets your delivery charges, but you still choose your retail provider.
- 2
Find your ESID
Your ESID (Electric Service Identifier) is the unique ID for your meter — it's on your current electric bill. CenterPoint ESIIDs are 17-digit numbers that typically begin with 1008901. It tells any provider exactly which home and rate apply.
- 3
Compare the all-in cost on the EFL
Pull the Electricity Facts Label and compare offers at your real usage — or just enter your address to see your exact Base rate.
Pull the Base EFL, compare offers on Power to Choose, or enter your address to see your exact Base rate.
Baytown electricity FAQs
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Enter your address for an all-in rate — energy, delivery, and a flat membership, with no teaser pricing or bill-credit games.
Sources
- U.S. EIA — Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A (Mar 2026)
- U.S. EIA — average residential electricity use & bills
- Power to Choose — the official PUCT marketplace
- ExxonMobil — Baytown complex
- Wikipedia — Hurricane Alicia (1983)
Plan documents: Electricity Facts Label (EFL) · Terms of Service & Your Rights as a Customer. Products and pricing are offered to qualified customers in Texas only.