Houston · CenterPoint Energy territory

Electricity rates in Houston, TX

Houston is a deregulated market, so you choose your retail provider — but CenterPoint Energy always delivers the power. Here's what shapes your bill, and how Base keeps pricing simple.

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Written and reviewed by the Base Power team · Last updated May 27, 2026

Quick answer

Houston electricity is deregulated: you pick the retail provider, but CenterPoint Energy owns the wires and delivers power to every home regardless of who you choose. The typical Texas home uses about 1,096 kWh a month and pays roughly 16.4¢/kWh; Houston's humidity-driven summers push usage to 1,400–1,500 kWh, so AC drives most of the bill. Base charges a flat 8¢/kWh energy rate plus CenterPoint's pass-through delivery and a flat monthly membership — no teaser rates or bill-credit gimmicks.

Today's rates

Houston 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). Houston 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 Houston?

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 Houston?

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.

Houston city limitsDeregulatedDelivered by CenterPoint

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 Houston

As the 4th-largest city in the U.S. and the anchor of a 6.8-million-person metro, Houston also has one of the most-watched grids in the country. Power here is delivered by CenterPoint Energy across Harris County and the surrounding Gulf Coast, while you're free to choose any retail electric provider you like — that's how Texas deregulation works.

What makes Houston different from the rest of this list is the back-to-back grid disruptions of 2024. That lived experience — days without power in brutal heat — is why so many Houston homeowners now think about backup power, not just rate-shopping.

Why are Houston bills highest in summer?

Houston's heat is about humidity more than the thermometer. The city averages only a few 100°F days a year, but August highs near 95°F with 90%+ morning humidity push the heat index past 110°F — so air conditioning runs almost around the clock. Summer usage climbs to roughly 1,400–1,500 kWh a month, and bills can run about 30% higher than in spring.

Houston, the grid, and backup power

In 2024 the CenterPoint grid took two big hits: the May derecho (winds near 100 mph downtown, 1M+ customers out) and Hurricane Beryl in July, which knocked out power to more than 2.1 million customers — many for days in the summer heat. Note an important distinction: switching retail providers does not change your wires service or restoration times — CenterPoint maintains the grid no matter who you buy electricity from. A home battery is a separate product: it backs up your own home during an outage, independent of the grid.

Apples to apples

How Base compares in Houston

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 Houston

1
Confirm your utility is CenterPoint

In Houston, 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.

Houston electricity FAQs

CenterPoint Energy delivers electricity to Houston homes and maintains the poles, wires, and meters. Because Houston is in the deregulated ERCOT market, you choose your retail electric provider separately. Whoever you pick, CenterPoint still delivers the power and handles outages, and its delivery charges are set by the PUCT and passed through without markup.

Houston's humidity makes a 95°F afternoon feel like 110°F, so air conditioning runs nearly nonstop. Summer usage commonly reaches 1,400–1,500 kWh a month — well above the ~1,096 kWh Texas average — and cooling is the single biggest driver of the bill.

The U.S. EIA put the average Texas residential rate at about 16.4¢/kWh in early 2026, below the U.S. average of about 18.8¢/kWh. Your all-in rate depends on usage and your plan, which is why comparing the Electricity Facts Label (EFL) for any offer matters.

No — CenterPoint maintains the grid for everyone, so outages and restoration are the same regardless of your retail provider. What a home battery does is back up your own home during an outage, keeping your essentials running while the grid is down. It's a separate product from your electricity plan.

Base charges a flat energy rate (advertised at 8¢/kWh), plus CenterPoint's pass-through delivery charges and a flat monthly membership ($19 or $29 by plan). There are no teaser rates and no bill-credit gimmicks. Enter your address for an exact quote and review the Electricity Facts Label for the usage-tiered price.

More Texas cities

See your Houston rate in two minutes

Enter your address for an all-in rate — energy, delivery, and a flat membership, with no teaser pricing or bill-credit games.

Sources

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.