Understanding TDSP charges and how they impact your electricity bill


Since 2002, much of the Texas electricity market has had the ability to choose a retail electricity provider (REP), such as Green Mountain Energy.1 In these areas of Texas, REPs aren’t the only companies involved in providing electricity. Transmission and Distribution Service Providers (TDSPs), also known as the utility company, also play an important role.

TDSP roles include transmitting, delivering and restoring power

They manage and maintain the infrastructure essential for ensuring that homes and businesses in their service area have power, including the poles, wires, transformers and meters.

TDSP territories in Texas

You can’t choose your TDSP. The service address of your home or business determine which TDSP cares for your area. You may be served by CenterPoint Energy (CNP), Oncor, Texas-New Mexico Power (TNMP), AEP Texas, Central Company (TCC) or AEP Texas North Company (TNC).

What are TDSP delivery charges?

These fees are assessed by your TDSP to cover the cost of its services, like maintaining the wires to your home and reading your meter, along with transmitting and distributing your electricity. The amount assessed may fluctuate based on your monthly usage and price changes allowed by the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT), which regulates all TDSPs in the state.

It’s important to note that the same TDSP charges for your premise are billed by the TDSP to your REP, regardless of which company you chose for your home or business. Each REP passes these charges through to their customers without markup. 

To make your TDSP Delivery Charges easy to find, we list it as a separate line item on your monthly Green Mountain Energy electricity bill. 

If you need help paying your electricity bill, Green Mountain Energy has relief options available. Click here to learn more about our financial aid programs.
 

Frequently Asked Questions

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TDSPs charge the same fees for your premise regardless of the REP serving you. Fees may change if you move to a new TDSP territory.

TDSP fees typically change at least twice per year, including March and September. Changes can result in a net increase or decrease in fees.

This depends on the fee. Certain fees are charged at a flat rate per billing cycle, while some are multiplied by the usage. For commercial customers, certain fees may be based on demand. A demand charge is based on the rate at which electric energy is delivered to or by a system at a given instant, or averaged over a designed period, during the billing cycle.

Disclaimers

1 With certain exceptions, the areas within the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) with customer choice do not include areas served by Municipally Owned Utilities or Electric Cooperatives.

 

Our customers have avoided

 

pounds of CO2

That’s like planting

 

new trees.

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