How to: Move to Texas - Utility Edition
Are you moving to Texas and looking for information on how to sign up for your utilities? I got you!
When I moved from San Diego to Texas in 2018, I was SO CONFUSED when it was time to sign up for electricity. I never had to “shop around” for electricity before and I had no idea what to choose.
Are you also looking for information on how to register your vehicles and get your new Texas driver’s license? Head over to my other blog post for a VERY DETAILED breakdown of what you’ll need: karinadiscovers.com/blog/2018/7/21/how-to-move-to-texas-ca-to-tx.
Electricity is Deregulated
What does this mean?
It means you’re able to choose your own electric company. If you are coming from a state like California, you know utilities are limited to PG&E, SDG&E, and SoCalGas. In Texas, the process of generating and selling electricity is broken into three separate parts - the creation, the distribution, and the retail sale. ONCOR is the main distributor in the DFW area, but you would sign up with a retailer like Reliant, Gexa, or TXU Energy. These three are some of the larger retail companies, but there are SO MANY available. Honestly, it was incredibly confusing to be presented with a bunch of options since I had no idea how much I was paying per kWh in California because, well, I had no choice but to accept what SDG&E offered.
If you want to know what is available, you can go to choosetexaspower.org or powertochoose.org and enter your zip code to find which energy suppliers service your area and what they charge. There will be tons of options with rates that fluctuate by times of use or dates. We personally chose a fixed-rate plan since we are always home and I like consistency, but you could find something that offers free weekends or evenings.
PRO TIP: If your electric company offers it, sign up for Average Billing! Your electric use will go through highs and lows with the crazy weather out this way. This option helps to keep your bill relatively consistent by charging you a little more in the lower usage months and then crediting you during your high usage months based on your average usage. It’s SO helpful during summer so that you don’t get hit with a stupidly expensive bill from running your AC all day, and it helps me budget because I generally know what to expect.
Save $50 for New Customers!
You can use my Referral Link to get a $50 credit on your first bill for new Reliant customers!
https://www.reliant.com/en/private/deeplink/referrees-customer-referral.jsp?txtReferralID=J8UKBNK
Use code “J8UKBNK” if it doesn’t pre-populate or if you call them at 866-RELIANT.
Types of Electric Plans
Fixed Rate: the rate per kilowatt-hour or kWh is locked for the length of your contract.
Variable Rate: these plans depend on electricity costs and are usually found in month-to-month contracts. I’d recommend NOT signing up for this, as there were HUGE increases after the major storm this past Winter that knocked out power for days. People were hit with bills in the THOUSANDS.
Indexed Rate: the rate per kWh varies on things like time of use or day of use. A lot of companies will offer “free” electricity between certain hours, i.e. 8pm to 4am, or on weekends - but might charge a lot more for daytime hours. If your home is empty most days during working hours, a plan like this might work for you.
Plan Length
Pro Tip: When looking at how long to sign up for, don’t worry about whether you’ll be moving before the contract ends. Energy companies cannot legally charge you an early termination fee if you’re moving and can provide proof of an address change - it's a Texas Public Utility Commission rule.
12 months seems to be the standard contract length but there are options that might offer cheaper rates per kWh if you go for a longer term, like three years. Look at the Pro Tip above if you’re worried about moving before the contract is up.
gas is also deregulated
…but it’s not as complex as energy. Atmos services most of DFW but not all. You’ll have to ask your landlord, real estate agent, or developer to find out for sure. There are tons of resources online to determine which retailers service your area for electricity, but I couldn’t find anything similar for natural gas services.
water + outside city limit rates
The city usually provides water, so a quick search online should get you to where you need to sign up.
However, keep an eye out for “outside city limit” rates. There are so many new communities being built in DFW, and many of them do not have the utility resources built to support them yet, so they will use water from local bigger cities. We live in a small town just south of Fort Worth, but our water comes from the City of Fort Worth. Our water and wastewater rates for being “outside city limits” are higher than it is for those living in the actual city itself. There isn’t anything we can do about it, but it wasn’t something we knew to expect before we moved in. Our water bill is by far our highest of all our utilities.
recycling isn’t everywhere
When we first moved to Texas, our apartment complex did not have a recycling bin or program. Management looked at me crazy when I asked where the recycling bins were. I’ve worked in two different offices, and neither of them had any recycling bins. This completely caught me (and most Californians) off guard - where the heck was I supposed to put my recyclables? It turns out, Texas does not have any regulations mandating recycling (that I could find), and many cities ended or limited their recycling programs due to lack of funding, infrastructure, and resources.
When we bought our home, waste/trash wasn’t bundled with water services, so our trash bill is separate and through a private company that services most of my neighborhood. I asked for a recycling bin when I signed up for their residential waste services but was told they did not offer any. We can put anything in our trash can - from regular waste to yard waste to recyclables. It all goes into one bin, and after three years, I am still not used to it.
internet
Honestly, there isn’t any difference between shopping around for internet providers in Texas vs. California…but I have noticed that many newer communities are set up for Gig speeds, which is super cool.
other “moving to texas” posts
Vehicle Registration and Drivers License Process: karinadiscovers.com/blog/2018/7/21/how-to-move-to-texas-ca-to-tx
Initial Observations about Dallas: karinadiscovers.com/blog/2018/6/29/we-moved-to-dallas