Electricity shopping, simplified

Why doesn't the advertised electricity rate match my bill?

The advertised rate is usually the plan's average price at exactly 1,000 kWh a month. Your home uses a different amount each month, so your bills come out different.

Published 16 September 2026 · Updated 2 October 2026

Why does one plan cost two homes different amounts?

Texas plans can include more than an energy rate: a monthly base charge, a bill credit that applies only above a certain usage, or other rules that change what a month costs.

So two households can look at the same plan and get different results. One clears a credit threshold almost every month. The other misses it half the year.

The question is not “Which plan advertises the lowest rate?” It is “Which plan is likely to cost my household the least?”

Why look at the whole year?

Few homes use 1,000 kWh every month. A Texas August looks nothing like a Texas April, and a single advertised rate cannot show what happens across twelve months.

Power Rate Check estimates each eligible plan across your month-by-month usage and ranks by estimated annual cost. You get one recommendation, and you can see why it ranked first.

1. Bring your real usage

   One bill, an average, or all twelve months. Your home, not the 1,000 kWh an ad assumes.

2. Open the pricing black box

   Base charges, bill credits and usage thresholds, worked out for each of your twelve months.

3. Get one clear answer

   The plan likely to cost your home the least, with the math behind it.

What if you only know one number?

Twelve months of usage is best, and we use those figures directly. Most people do not have a year of bills to hand, so we also accept an average or one recent bill.

We do not assume every month looks the same. We use a Texas residential seasonal pattern derived from U.S. Energy Information Administration data.

Three years are averaged so one unusually hot or mild year does not drive the pattern. It is government-sourced and statewide, not a prediction of your exact home: a home with solar panels, an electric vehicle, electric heat or a pool may look different.

If you give us one recent bill, we anchor the pattern to that bill's month. If you give us an average, we keep that average and spread it across the year. If you give us all twelve months, we use your figures as they are.

How do we keep it simple?

We do the complicated math behind the scenes, so your decision can stay simple. You should not need to become a rate expert to choose an electricity plan. So we show you one plan, not a list.

Articles are general information for Texas electricity shoppers. Every cost Power Rate Check shows is an estimate, and the Electricity Facts Label is the provider's official price document — read it before you sign.