A Texas electricity plan that looks cheapest at 1,000 kWh can be more expensive at 500 kWh or 2,000 kWh once fixed charges, bill credits and delivery fees are fully counted.
That is why the Electricity Facts Label, not the headline ad rate, is the real comparison tool in the state’s retail power market.
Yes, the “cheapest” Texas electricity plan can change depending on how much power you use. The basic reason is simple: many plans are not priced in a straight line. A monthly base charge raises the effective cents-per-kWh for low-usage homes, while bill credits can sharply cut the average price only after a household crosses a specific usage threshold.
Texas regulators require retail providers to show residential pricing on the Electricity Facts Label, or EFL, at 500, 1,000 and 2,000 kWh a month. The Public Utility Commission of Texas also requires disclosure of the product type, recurring charges, contract term and relevant fees. That makes the EFL the standardized document for comparing plans on something closer to an apples-to-apples basis.
How rankings flip
A current example from the CenterPoint service area shows how quickly rankings can move. In EFLs dated September 1, 2026, Reliant Conservation 12 lists average prices of 20.5 cents at 500 kWh, 19.5 cents at 1,000 kWh and 20.0 cents at 2,000 kWh. Reliant Power Savings 12 lists 19.8 cents, 14.3 cents and 16.6 cents. Discount Power Bill Credit Bundle 12 lists 22.1 cents, 9.1 cents and 15.1 cents.
Those three offers do not produce one universal winner. At 500 kWh, Reliant Power Savings 12 is the lowest of the three. At 1,000 kWh, Discount Power Bill Credit Bundle 12 is dramatically lower. At 2,000 kWh, the Discount Power plan still leads, but by a much smaller margin. A consumer shopping only by the advertised 1,000-kWh number could easily pick a worse deal for an apartment-sized load.
The bill math behind the EFL
The mechanics are visible inside the labels. Discount Power Bill Credit Bundle 12 in CenterPoint uses a $125 usage credit at 1,000 kWh or more, no base charge, an energy charge of 14.6976 cents per kWh, and pass-through delivery charges from CenterPoint. That is why the plan looks expensive at 500 kWh, where the credit does not apply, but much cheaper at 1,000 kWh, where it does.
Reliant Power Savings 12 works the same way on a smaller scale. It carries a $50 usage credit once a customer reaches 1,000 kWh. Reliant Conservation 12 instead relies on a $5 base charge and a higher energy charge above 1,000 kWh. Base fees punish low usage; threshold credits reward customers who land near the trigger; tiered energy pricing can raise the average again at higher consumption.
Why service area and timing matter
Texas plans also are not interchangeable across the state. Delivery charges are set by the local wires company, often called the TDU or TDSP, and those charges vary by service territory and can change over time. Comparing a Houston-area CenterPoint plan with an Oncor-area Dallas plan as if they were identical will produce misleading results even when the provider name is the same.
Contract details matter too. The September 1, 2026 EFLs above show $150 early termination fees on the Reliant and Discount Power 12-month plans reviewed here. Fixed-rate products can still change for limited reasons such as updated TDU charges or regulatory fees. Variable or indexed products add another layer of risk because the next month’s price may move with market conditions or provider discretion, depending on the product design.
What shoppers should actually do
The best way to shop for a Texas electricity plan is to match the EFL to your real usage, ideally a full 12 months of bills rather than one recent month. If your home usually sits near 500 kWh, a plan built to win at 1,000 kWh may be a trap. If your summer load regularly clears 2,000 kWh, a high-threshold credit plan may work better than a flat-looking offer.
In other words, the cheapest Texas electricity plan is not a universal label. It is a usage-specific result. Read the EFL table at 500, 1,000 and 2,000 kWh, confirm the service area, then check the base charge, usage credit, delivery charges, contract term and cancellation fee before you switch.