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Dallas vs Austin vs San Antonio: who pays more per kWh

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Dallas Oncor TDU runs 4.4 cents per kWh. Austin Energy is municipal at 11.0 cents per kWh all-in. San Antonio CPS is municipal at 10.2 cents per kWh. Why the spread.

Harry Parker

Energy Consultant, Seenra Inc

State spotlight9 min readPublished

Featured infographic

Texas big-city rate comparison

Dallas (deregulated): supplier choice, 12.5 cents effective. Austin (municipal): no choice, 11.0 cents. San Antonio (municipal): no choice, 10.2 cents.

Open graph image · /og/state-deregulation.png

Dallas is in Oncor TDU (deregulated, supplier choice). Austin is municipal (Austin Energy, no supplier choice). San Antonio is municipal (CPS Energy, no supplier choice). Effective all-in residential rates: Dallas roughly 12.5 cents per kWh (Oncor TDU + REP supply), Austin Energy 11.0 cents, CPS 10.2 cents. Dallas residents with a clean supplier lock can match or beat the municipal rates. Without shopping, Dallas typically pays more than Austin or SA.

Deregulated vs municipal across Texas big cities

The Texas deregulated retail electricity market covers Oncor, Centerpoint, AEP Texas, and TNMP TDU territories. Cities served: Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Galveston, Corpus Christi, Lubbock, Abilene, Tyler.

Municipal utilities operate in Austin (Austin Energy), San Antonio (CPS Energy), El Paso (El Paso Electric), and several smaller cities. Residents in these cities cannot shop suppliers; they pay the municipal rate.

Effective residential rate comparison

Dallas (Oncor TDU + competitive REP): 12.5 cents per kWh on default-pricing offers. With a clean locked REP, 9.5 to 11.0 cents.

Austin (Austin Energy municipal): 11.0 cents per kWh all-in. No supplier choice. Rate is set by the municipal council.

San Antonio (CPS Energy municipal): 10.2 cents per kWh all-in. No supplier choice. Rate is set by the CPS board.

Shopping strategy by city

Dallas: shop aggressively via PowerToChoose. A locked rate at 9.5 to 11.0 cents per kWh beats Austin Energy and CPS. Dallas without shopping (sticking on the default rate or a high-price REP) pays more than either municipal city.

Austin and SA: no shopping is available. Pay the municipal rate. The only optimization levers are residential demand reduction, solar (where allowed), and time-of-use options where offered.

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Common questions

Quick answers from the editorial desk

Why is Austin Energy municipal?
Austin Energy is owned by the City of Austin and was never deregulated. It operates as a municipal utility under city council oversight. Rates are set by the city council. Customers cannot shop suppliers because there is no supplier-choice marketplace.
Can I switch suppliers if I live in Austin?
No. Austin Energy is a municipal utility with no supplier choice. The only way to get supplier choice in Austin is to physically relocate to a deregulated zone (e.g., suburban Round Rock served by Oncor).
Does San Antonio have supplier choice?
No. CPS Energy is a municipal utility. Customers pay the municipal rate. The CPS board sets the rate; the City of San Antonio receives a share of the profits as municipal revenue.
Which Dallas REP do you recommend?
We rotate the recommendation list based on current offers. Generally: a PUCT-licensed REP offering a clean 24-month fixed rate at 9.5 to 11.0 cents per kWh, with cancellation fee under $50, no introductory pricing, no bill-credit gimmicks. Seenra screens REPs against these criteria.

Further reading

Pillar guide, cluster siblings, and state pages cited above

Sources

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