Texas electricity rates in October 2026: what our data shows

This is our first monthly look at residential electricity prices in Texas's competitive areas. All numbers come from the PUCT's Power to Choose plan export as imported into TexasHomeBills on October 8, 2026, and from our own cost model. They are estimates and will change as providers update their offers.

How we measured

• Offers count distinct active residential plans in the export. Some plans are listed twice, once in English and once in Spanish, occasionally with different prices; we count each plan once (same utility, provider, plan name and term) and keep the listing whose prices match its Electricity Facts Label.
• Median 1,000 kWh price is the middle value of the average price at 1,000 kWh across all distinct active offers in an area. That price includes the utility's delivery charges, as on the Electricity Facts Label.
• Lowest estimated annual cost uses our default ranking: fixed-rate plans of 6 months or more, excluding variable, prepaid and time-of-use plans. We spread a 1,000 kWh monthly average across a summer-heavy seasonal profile (about 700 kWh in April up to about 1,500 kWh in August) and rebuild each month's bill from the plan's published prices and any bill credit. A plan shorter than 12 months is priced at its own rate for its term, starting this month, and for the rest of the year at the median monthly bill of 12-month-or-longer fixed plans in the same area, as if you shopped again. Plans with the same estimate are listed by longer term, then better PUCT complaint score. See how it works.

The numbers by utility

Across all areas there were 952 distinct offers (1,107 listings) from 44 provider brands. Nueces Electric Cooperative had a single listing, a variable-rate plan, and is not included in the table.

Lowest estimated annual cost, plan by plan

For a home averaging 1,000 kWh a month, the plans at the top of our default ranking as of October 2026 were:

• Oncor: Express Energy Speedy 12, Veteran Energy Basic 12 and True Power True Value 12 (all 12 months, with the same published prices), tied at about $1,464 a year.
• CenterPoint: the same three 12-month plans, again with the same prices, tied at about $1,453.
• AEP Texas Central: True Power True Value 12 (12 months), about $1,323.
• AEP Texas North: True Power True Value 12 (12 months), about $1,347.
• TNMP: Express Energy Speedy 12 and Veteran Energy Basic 12 (12 months, same prices), tied at about $1,391.
• Lubbock Power & Light: True Power True Value 12 (12 months), about $1,416.

Where plans tie, we list the longer term first, then the better PUCT complaint score; the order within a tie is not a judgment of which plan is cheaper.

Every leader is now a 12-month plan. In the first version of this article, several leaders were 6-month plans, because their price was counted as if it lasted the whole year. We now price a plan shorter than 12 months at its own rate for its term and then at a typical 12-month-or-longer plan in the same area for the remaining months, as if you shopped again (see how it works). On that basis, the best-placed plan shorter than 12 months ranks between 9th and 12th in each area. For example, Octopus Energy Octo Simple 6, tied for first in Oncor in the first version, now comes out at about $1,562 a year and ranks 18th. If you let a short plan roll onto a month-to-month rate instead of shopping again, the year can cost noticeably more; each plan page shows that figure too.

We also corrected one listing. Power to Choose listed Varsity Energy TOUCHDOWN 12 in Oncor twice; one listing showed 11.5¢ at 1,000 kWh, but the plan's Electricity Facts Label says 12.4¢. That listing had tied for first at about $1,380. We now keep only the listing that matches the label, which ranks 8th at about $1,488.

These are rankings by estimated cost only. They are not recommendations, and your result will differ with your own usage. Provider ratings, contract terms and fees are on each plan page.

Bill credits: about 1 in 13 offers

As of October 2026, 72 of the 952 distinct offers (about 7.6%) have bill-credit terms or a price shape that points to one. By utility: 13 in Oncor, 14 in CenterPoint, 12 each in AEP Texas Central and North, 12 in TNMP and 9 in Lubbock. (Flat-bill plans, which charge the same amount every month up to a usage level, are not counted as credit plans.)

The 1,000 kWh price vs the annual ranking

Sorting by the 1,000 kWh price and sorting by estimated annual cost give very different lists. One example from the Oncor area: AP Gas & Electric's SimpleSaver 12 lists one of the lowest prices on the board at 1,000 kWh, 6.9¢ per kWh, thanks to a $125 credit in billing cycles at or above 1,000 kWh. On our seasonal profile, a home averaging 1,000 kWh falls below that line in 8 of 12 months. Its estimated annual cost for that home is about $1,824, which places it 100th of 127 default-ranked Oncor plans, compared with about $1,464 at the top.

The same pattern holds in every area: the lowest 1,000 kWh prices belong to credit plans, and for a 1,000 kWh-average home they rank in the lower part of the annual list. For larger homes that stay above the credit threshold all year, the picture can reverse. Our guide to bill credits and the 999 kWh cliff walks through the math.

What to do with this

• If your contract ends in the next few months, add it to your dashboard for reminders, and read what happens when your contract ends.
• Compare plans on your own 12 months of usage in our plan search; the ranking can change a lot from the 1,000 kWh example here.
• Always open the Electricity Facts Label before signing.

TexasHomeBills is independent and is not a provider or broker. Rankings are based on estimated cost alone; see our advertiser disclosure.