Switching electricity providers in Texas does not disconnect your power, interrupt service, or require a technician visit. The lights stay on throughout the entire process.
Why There Is No Gap in Service
The company that owns the physical wires to your home is your Transmission and Distribution Utility (TDU). That company is determined by geography, not by billing choice. Whether you are served by Oncor, CenterPoint Energy, AEP Texas, or Texas-New Mexico Power, the TDU continues to deliver electricity through the same lines regardless of which retail electric provider (REP) you choose. What changes is only the entity that buys power on your behalf and sends you a bill.
The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) designed this split-ownership structure when the market deregulated in 2002. The physical grid is managed by ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas), which coordinates supply and demand across roughly 90 percent of the state's load. Neither ERCOT nor the TDU has any role in your billing relationship with a REP, which is why changing that relationship creates no service disruption.
How the Switch Works, Step by Step
When a Texas household enrolls with a new retail electric provider, the process runs in two phases.
Enrollment. You sign up online or by phone with the new REP and select a plan. The new provider submits a switch request electronically to your TDU through a standardized data interchange system. No truck is dispatched. No meter is touched. The TDU records the pending change in its database.
The three-day rescission window. Under PUCT rules (16 TAC Section 25.474), you have three business days to cancel a switch after enrolling without penalty. This cooling-off period protects consumers from high-pressure sales situations. If you take no action, the switch proceeds automatically after that window closes.
The switch date. Texas switches take effect on your next scheduled meter read date, which typically falls within 15 to 45 days of enrollment depending on where you are in your billing cycle. Your TDU reads meters on a fixed schedule, and the REP change is recorded at that reading. From that date forward, your new REP receives your consumption data and begins issuing bills.
During the interval between enrollment and the switch date, your old provider continues service normally. There is no moment when your account is unassigned.
A Realistic Timeline
Here is what the process looks like for a typical Houston household in CenterPoint territory.
- Day 0: Enrollment with the new REP, plan selected and confirmed.
- Days 1 to 3: Rescission window. Enrollment can be canceled at no cost.
- Day 4 onward: Switch is locked in, queued for the next scheduled meter read.
- Day 15 to 30 (approximate): TDU reads the meter. Switch becomes effective.
- Next billing cycle: New REP issues its first invoice. Old REP issues a final bill for the partial period.
The electricity flowing on Day 0 and on Day 30 travels through the same wires from the same grid. The switch is an administrative transaction, not a physical one.
What Changes and What Stays the Same
Understanding the distinction helps households set accurate expectations before enrolling.
What changes:
- The company that bills you for electricity consumption
- Your rate per kWh and the terms of your supply contract
- The customer service number for billing questions
What does not change:
- Your TDU and the physical delivery infrastructure
- Who to call during a power outage (always the TDU, not the REP)
- Your meter or any equipment on the property
- The reliability of power delivery
Outage response is a frequent point of confusion for newly switched customers. If power goes out after switching, call your TDU, not the new REP. The REP has no ability to restore power. In North Texas, contact Oncor at 888-313-4747. In Houston, CenterPoint at 713-207-2222. In West Texas, AEP Texas at 866-223-8508. Your outage report goes to the same place it always did.
Overlapping Bills: The One Adjustment to Expect
The only financial friction in a typical switch is a brief period of two concurrent invoices. Your old provider issues a final bill covering the days between your last regular invoice and the switch date. Your new provider issues its first bill starting from that same switch date.
These two invoices often arrive close together and can look like a double charge. They are not. Together they cover a continuous period of service with no overlap and no gap. Review the billing date ranges on both invoices before paying.
If the date ranges do overlap, that is a billing dispute worth escalating. File a complaint with the PUCT at puc.texas.gov or call 1-888-782-8477. The PUCT requires REPs to resolve billing disputes within a defined timeframe under retail market rules (16 TAC Section 25.480).
When Not to Switch
Switching is not always the right call. There are four situations where staying with the current provider is the better decision.
Early termination fees apply. Most fixed-rate plans carry an early termination fee (ETF) of $100 to $200. If the projected savings from a new rate do not exceed the ETF before the current contract ends, the switch does not pay. Calculate the break-even point before enrolling.
Wholesale prices have spiked. When ERCOT settlement prices rise sharply during extreme heat or cold, variable-rate plans from new providers may temporarily exceed what a current fixed-rate contract offers. A fixed-rate contract is most valuable precisely when market prices are high. Do not switch mid-contract during a price spike.
A promotional rate has not expired. Some providers offer introductory rates that reset to market levels after three to six months. If a current plan includes a promotional rate that has not yet run out, waiting may produce more savings than switching early.
A billing dispute is unresolved. An outstanding balance with the current provider does not disappear when switching. Unresolved balances can be referred to collections regardless of who is issuing bills afterward. Resolve disputes before initiating a switch.
How to Evaluate Plans Before Enrolling
The PUCT requires every retail electric provider in Texas to publish a standardized Electricity Facts Label (EFL) for each plan it sells. The EFL shows the average price per kWh at three usage levels: 500, 1,000, and 2,000 kWh per month. A household using closer to 1,800 kWh per month in a hot Texas summer should weight the 2,000 kWh column more heavily than the 1,000 kWh figure, which many providers advertise prominently because it produces a lower-looking rate.
Compare EFLs directly rather than headline advertised rates. Advertised rates frequently apply only at a specific usage tier and may exclude TDU pass-through charges. Those delivery charges are set by the TDU and are identical regardless of which REP you choose, so they carry no weight in a side-by-side comparison between providers.
The Texas average retail residential electricity rate was approximately 14.2 cents per kWh as of early 2025 (EIA Electric Power Monthly). Competitive 12-month fixed-rate plans in Oncor and CenterPoint territory regularly come in below that figure, which is the primary reason to compare at every renewal rather than allowing a plan to roll onto a month-to-month rate.