How to read an Electricity Facts Label

What is an Electricity Facts Label?

An Electricity Facts Label, usually shortened to EFL, is the standardized disclosure for a Texas retail electricity plan. Think of it as the plan's nutrition label: it puts the price formula, contract terms, fees, and renewable content in one document so you can compare offers on the same basis.

Texas rules require a separate EFL for each product. The provider name, plan name, service area, and document date should match the offer you are considering. If they do not match, stop and ask the provider for the correct version before enrolling.

Which numbers matter most on an EFL?

The first numbers to find are the average prices per kilowatt-hour at 500, 1,000, and 2,000 kWh. A kilowatt-hour, or kWh, is the unit your bill uses to measure electricity consumption. Texas requires these three residential benchmarks, rounded to one-tenth of a cent.

Those prices are not just the provider's energy charge. They reflect recurring charges used to calculate the plan's total price, including delivery charges passed through from the local utility. State and local sales taxes are excluded.

Use the row nearest your real usage as a quick filter:

• Around 500 kWh: often an apartment, a small home, or a low-usage month.
• Around 1,000 kWh: a useful middle benchmark, but not a promise that this is your home's normal use.
• Around 2,000 kWh: often a larger home or a heavy cooling month.

Your own bills are better than any rule of thumb. Pull a few from August, January, and a mild month like April. A plan that looks good in spring can behave very differently during an air-conditioning or heating peak.

How is the average price per kWh calculated?

The provider calculates each benchmark by applying the plan's disclosed price formula and any stated assumptions at 500, 1,000, or 2,000 kWh, then dividing the result by that usage. On a simple plan, this is the month's recurring electricity charges divided by that month's usage. The result is a blended comparison number, not a separate fee on your bill.

A low advertised energy charge can still produce a high average price after a base charge and utility delivery charges are added. Compare the total average price first. Use the formula second to test your own usage.

Not every EFL uses only the three charges in this example. A plan built around solar buyback, a battery program, or discounted EV charging may include assumed exports, battery capacity or program credits, or scheduled charging in its benchmark calculation. Look near the average-price table for the inputs the document used. They provide a common example, not a forecast of your home, so compare them with your own exports, equipment, and usage pattern.

Why do the 500, 1,000, and 2,000 kWh prices differ?

Fixed monthly charges are spread across more kWh as usage rises, so even a simple plan may get slightly cheaper per kWh at higher usage. Larger swings usually point to a bill credit, a tier, or a time-of-use assumption.

The three rows are snapshots. They do not show what happens at 999 kWh, 1,001 kWh, or your exact usage. Never assume the price changes smoothly between the rows.

Bill-credit plans can work well for a household that reliably lands inside the credit window. The risk is usage mismatch: weather and life can move your home across a threshold even when your habits do not change much. See the full bill-credit and free-nights math before judging one benchmark row.

How do you read the EFL for each plan type?

First identify the product type. Then inspect the part of the formula that can make your bill move. Different plan shapes require different questions.

For a time-of-use plan, the three benchmark prices may rely on a standardized usage pattern rather than your household's schedule. A free-nights offer can fit a home that shifts meaningful consumption overnight, but the word “free” tells you nothing about the daytime rate. Check both.

For a variable-price plan, the EFL's total price describes the first billing cycle. Read how later prices are determined and use the provider's historical price information to understand how much the rate has moved.

How do you compare an EFL with your actual usage?

Find your last 12 months of kWh usage on past bills or through your smart-meter data. Then choose two or three plans and calculate what each formula would have charged for a low month, a typical month, and a high month.

Do not interpolate between the three EFL rows when the plan has credits, tiers, or time-based pricing. Instead:

1. Multiply each per-kWh charge by your usage.
2. Add every recurring monthly and delivery charge.
3. Apply any time-of-use, export, EV charging, or equipment assumptions using your own data.
4. Subtract only the credits whose conditions your month actually meets.
5. Divide the total by your kWh if you want a comparable average rate.
6. Repeat for more than one month before deciding.

What else should you check?

A single unusually cheap benchmark row needs context. It often means the plan was shaped around a usage threshold, not that it is inexpensive at every usage level.

Also confirm:

• A bill-credit window: confirm both the minimum and maximum usage, if there is one.
• Tier wording: determine whether the new price applies to all usage or only one block.
• An old document: rates and terms can change. Make sure the EFL version matches the offer you can enroll in today.

A monthly base charge and pass-through delivery charges are ordinary plan components. Most plans have them, and the EFL's average prices already include them. Focus on what they mean for your bill: a base charge has a larger per-kWh effect in low-usage months. “Fixed rate” fixes the parts of the price identified in the agreement, not your total bill. Usage still changes, and permitted pass-through charges can change.

Electricity Facts Label FAQ

Where can I find a plan's EFL?

The provider should make the EFL available with the plan details before you enroll. Texas's Power to Choose marketplace also links plan documents from its results. Match the provider, plan, service area, and version date before relying on it.

Does the EFL price include utility delivery charges?

Yes. The total average price includes recurring charges used for the plan, including delivery charges passed through by the local poles-and-wires utility. It excludes state and local sales taxes, so it may not equal your final bill exactly.

Is the EFL average price what I will actually pay?

Only if your usage and the plan's assumptions match that benchmark. Your bill depends on your actual kWh, when you use power, exports, qualifying equipment or programs, fees, credits, taxes, and any allowed charge changes. Treat the three rows as comparison points, then calculate your own months.

Which usage level should I use: 500, 1,000, or 2,000 kWh?

Use the level nearest your real monthly consumption, but check more than one month. Your past 12 bills show whether you regularly cross a credit or tier threshold and whether summer usage changes the result.

Does a fixed-rate EFL mean my bill cannot change?

No. A fixed-rate contract fixes the specified price components for its term, but your usage changes from month to month. The contract may also allow certain delivery, regulatory, or legal charges to pass through.

Sources and related reading

This guide is based on the Public Utility Commission of Texas customer disclosure rule, including the residential usage benchmarks and required EFL disclosures. The PUCT's Power to Choose user guide recommends using past bills and a calculator when comparing plans.

Reviewed July 29, 2026. This guide provides general educational information, not legal advice. Rules and plan terms can change; confirm current PUCT materials and your plan documents for your situation.

Continue with bill-credit and free-nights plans, TDU delivery charges explained, early termination fees, or how the deregulated Texas market works.