Moving in Texas: how to plan your electricity for move-out and move-in

A move involves two electricity accounts: the one you close at the old home and the one you open at the new home. Handled in the right order, the switch is routine. Handled late, it can mean a gap without power, a surprise fee or a deposit you didn't plan for. Here is a practical plan, with the Texas rules that apply.

Moving out: close the old account

Tell your current provider the move-out date and give a forwarding address. Do this as soon as you know the date. The provider usually arranges with the utility for a final meter read on that day, and your final bill covers usage up to that read. The forwarding address is where the final bill (and any deposit refund) goes.

What happens to your contract. Under PUCT rules (16 TAC §25.475(c)(2)(C)), a contract covers service only at the location it names. If you move, you are under no obligation to continue it at another address, and no early-termination fee may be charged because of the move if you:

• give a forwarding address, and
• if the provider requires it, give reasonable evidence that you no longer occupy the old address.

The rule does not list what counts as evidence. In practice, providers often accept something like a new lease, a closing statement or a utility bill at the new address. Ask your provider what it wants and keep a copy of what you send. Your Terms of Service must also state that you can end service without penalty when you move (§25.475(f)(4)(C)).

For the other no-fee case, the last 14 days of a fixed-rate contract, and what happens when a contract simply ends, see what happens when your contract ends.

Don't stop service too early. Pick a move-out date that leaves power on while you clean and hand over keys. If you are a renter, check your lease for anything it says about keeping service on until move-out.

Moving in: set up the new home

1. Find out who serves the new address

Every service point in the competitive market has its own ESI ID (Electric Service Identifier), a long number that identifies the meter location. Your new provider usually looks it up from the street address when you enroll. If the address has several close matches, such as apartments, confirm the unit number; you can also ask the landlord or builder, or use an ESI ID lookup tool offered by providers and utilities.

The new home may be in a different utility area from the old one. Delivery charges, and therefore plan prices, differ by utility. Search by ZIP code in our plan search to see which utility serves it and what plans cost there.

Some areas have no retail choice. Customers of Austin Energy, CPS Energy in San Antonio, most electric cooperatives and some utilities outside the competitive market (including El Paso) generally buy directly from their local utility. If your ZIP code shows no plans, you are probably in one of those areas. Our guide to utility vs retail provider explains how this works.

2. Ask for a move-in, not a switch

Starting service at an address where you are not already the customer is a move-in. Changing providers at the home you already live in is a switch. The difference matters:

• The three-business-day right to cancel a new contract without a fee applies to switches only. Under §25.474(j) it does not apply to move-ins, so read the Electricity Facts Label and Terms of Service before you confirm. See how to read an EFL.
• The provider submits the move-in for the date you agree on, "as allowed by the tariff" of the utility (§25.474(k)).

3. Order early, and know about priority fees

Order service at least a week ahead if you can, and earlier for the first or last days of the month, when many people move. Under §25.474(n), a provider may pass on properly tariffed utility charges for connecting service or for changes linked to establishing new service, and the Terms of Service must describe routine move-in charges (§25.475(f)(2)(A)). Same-day or priority move-in requests usually cost more than a standard request. The amounts are set in each utility's tariff, so ask the provider what applies before you pick a date.

4. Moving your current plan

If your current provider also serves the new area, it may offer to transfer your plan. PUCT rules treat a transfer from one premises to another, with the same provider and no material change in terms, differently from a new enrollment (§25.474(m)(4)). That can be convenient, but:

• if the new home is in another utility area, the price usually changes, because delivery charges differ;
• you are not required to accept a transfer; you can end the old contract and shop for a new one.

Compare the transfer offer with plans for the new address before you agree.

Deposits: when they apply and how to avoid them

A provider may ask a new residential customer for a deposit if satisfactory credit can't be shown (16 TAC §25.478(c)(1)). What the rule says:

• Satisfactory credit options any provider must accept (§25.478(a)(4)): you are 65 or older and not currently delinquent on any electric service account; or you have been determined to be a victim of family violence, shown by a certification letter developed by the Texas Council on Family Violence.
• Payment history. A provider may obtain your payment history from any provider that served you in the past two years, with your authorization, or from a credit reporting agency (§25.478(a)(5)). For affiliated providers and providers of last resort, being a customer in the last two years, not delinquent, and late no more than once in the last 12 months counts as satisfactory credit (§25.478(a)(3)). Other providers may set their own additional ways to qualify, so ask.
• Letter of guarantee. Affiliated providers and providers of last resort must offer a written letter of guarantee instead of a cash deposit (§25.478(c)(2)); other providers may or may not.
• Prepaid. A prepaid provider cannot require a security deposit (16 TAC §25.498). See fixed, variable and prepaid plans.

How much. All deposits together may not exceed the greater of one-fifth of the estimated annual bill or the estimated bills for the next two months (§25.478(e)).

Getting it back. A deposit must be refunded after 12 consecutive residential bills paid without a late payment. When you leave a provider, it must transfer the deposit, plus interest, to your new provider or refund it, minus anything you still owe (§25.478(j)). That is another reason to give the old provider a forwarding address.

Moving timeline

Save the new contract for reminders

Your new plan has its own end date. Add it to your TexasHomeBills dashboard and we will email you 30 and 7 days before it expires, with a calendar link for the dates that matter. If you are planning to move again soon, pick a term that fits: a plan that runs past your next move is fine, since moving usually ends it without a fee, but a shorter term may avoid the paperwork.

We are an independent comparison site, not a provider, and we never enroll you or switch your plan. This article is general information, not legal advice; your contract, the utility's tariff and the PUCT rules govern your situation.