TDU delivery charges, explained

What is a TDU?

A TDU (short for transmission and distribution utility) is the company that owns the poles, wires, and meters in your area and physically delivers electricity to your home. You'll see the same company called a TDSP (transmission and distribution service provider), "the utility," or just "the delivery company." Four names, one thing.

You don't choose your TDU. Exactly one serves your address, determined by where you live, and it stays the same no matter which electricity plan or provider you pick. In the deregulated parts of Texas there are six:

• Oncor — Dallas–Fort Worth, and much of North and West Texas
• CenterPoint — Houston and the Gulf Coast
• AEP Texas Central — Corpus Christi and South Texas
• AEP Texas North — Abilene, San Angelo, and northwest Texas
• TNMP — pockets of the Gulf Coast, West Texas, and North Texas
• Lubbock Power & Light — Lubbock (city-owned; joined the competitive market in 2024)

Each link leads to the utility's official customer and outage information.

The TDU is a different company from the provider (formally a retail electric provider, or REP) whose name is on your bill. The provider sells you a contract and bills you; the TDU maintains the wires, reads the meter, and restores power after an outage. If the lights go out, the TDU restores service. Switching providers doesn't change who delivers power to your home.

What are TDU delivery charges?

TDU delivery charges are what the utility charges to move electricity across its network to your home. Your provider doesn't set them or keep them: the TDU bills your provider for delivering your power, and nearly every plan passes those charges through to you unchanged.

For residential customers the charge has two parts:

• A fixed monthly charge. This flat amount covers services such as metering, billing the provider, and maintaining your service line. You pay it even in a month you use almost nothing.
• A per-kWh charge. This rate applies to every kilowatt-hour (kWh, the unit your bill uses to measure usage) that flows to your home.

Both parts are set through rates approved by the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT), the state regulator. The TDU charges the same regulated rates for your home no matter which provider or plan you're on. No provider gets a better delivery deal than another.

What are the current TDU delivery rates?

Two things are worth noticing in the table. First, delivery is a meaningful share of your bill. At 1,000 kWh, it runs $55–$75 a month depending on where you live. Second, the differences between TDUs explain why the same plan is quoted at different prices in Dallas and Houston: the energy side may be identical, but the pass-through isn't.

The TDUs update these rates every March 1 and September 1, and they can also adjust them between those dates with PUCT approval. That matters when you read your bill: a delivery-rate change appears even if you never touched your plan, and it applies even on a fixed-rate plan. Texas rules let a fixed-rate price vary to reflect actual changes in TDU charges. What "fixed" locks is the provider's side of the price, not the regulated pass-through. A small bill change every March or September usually reflects updated delivery rates rather than a change to your plan.

How do TDU delivery charges work with solar or a battery?

For an approved, interconnected system, the per-kWh TDU charge applies to electricity imported from the grid, not energy exported to it. Texas rules require grid imports and exports to be measured separately and prohibit distribution and transmission charges for exporting energy. The fixed monthly TDU charge still applies while the home has electric service.

That creates three useful distinctions:

• Solar or battery energy used inside the home does not cross the meter from the grid. It reduces the imported kWh on which per-kWh delivery charges are based.
• Energy exported to the grid is recorded separately as out-flow. The TDU does not add a per-kWh delivery charge to that export. Whether and how the retail provider credits it depends on the solar buyback plan, battery program, or other agreement.
• Energy used to charge a battery from the grid is an import, so the usual per-kWh delivery charge applies when the battery charges. Exporting that energy later does not reverse the earlier delivery charge, although the plan or battery program may provide a separate export or participation credit.

For example, suppose a home imports 600 kWh during a billing period and exports 250 kWh at other times. On a plan that passes TDU charges through, the per-kWh delivery charge is based on the 600 kWh imported, not 850 kWh of total flow or the 350 kWh difference. The provider then applies any credit for the 250 kWh exported according to the plan's terms.

This is why an export credit is not automatically the mirror image of the all-in import price. The utility's delivery charge and the provider's export credit are separate parts of the bill.

Why can't you shop around for delivery charges?

Because there's only one set of wires. Building a second, competing network of poles and lines to every home would cost far more than it could ever save, so Texas kept delivery as a regulated monopoly: one company per area, with the PUCT approving what it can charge instead of competition setting the price.

Texas opened electricity generation and retail plans to competition but kept delivery regulated because a competing wire network would be impractical. You can choose the energy plan; the state regulates the delivery network. Learn how the deregulated market splits those roles.

You cannot lower the delivery rate by choosing a different provider. As long as you compare plans using all-in prices, the same delivery rate applies to each.

How do providers show delivery charges?

Providers are allowed to present delivery charges two ways, and both are legitimate:

• Broken out: the TDU's monthly charge and per-kWh charge appear as their own line items on your bill, matching the table above. The vast majority of residential plans use a straight pass-through of whatever the TDU bills.
• Bundled: the provider folds delivery into a single all-in ¢/kWh price, so you see one rate instead of separate lines.

Strictly speaking, a provider isn't required to pass the TDU's rates through line for line. A bundled price is the provider's own number, sized to cover the delivery charges it pays the TDU on your behalf. Both formats can present the same costs accurately: a bundled plan includes delivery in one price, while a broken-out plan lists it separately. What matters is comparing plans on a number that includes delivery. The average prices on an Electricity Facts Label (the 500, 1,000, and 2,000 kWh rows) always include delivery charges, which makes them more useful for comparison than an advertised energy-only rate.

Can other TDU service charges appear on your bill?

Yes. The monthly customer charge and per-kWh delivery rate are the recurring TDU charges, but a utility can also charge for a specific service performed at the address. On a bill, the amount may be grouped under TDU or TDSP pass-through charges, discretionary service charges, or non-recurring utility charges. Utility billing descriptions that may reach a residential bill include:

• Service charge (TDSP-specific discretionary): a general label for a utility service charge. Your provider can identify the specific service behind it.
• Connection charge or service connection: starts delivery service at an address. Extra wording such as "self-contained meter" describes the meter or connection involved.
• Special meter read: records the meter on a date outside its normal reading schedule, such as when a provider needs a reading for a different service date.
• Retail customer requested clearance or service conductor temporary removal: temporarily de-energizes utility equipment or removes the service wire so you or a contractor can work safely. Labor and transportation may appear as separate lines.
• Disconnect at meter or disconnect at pole, weatherhead, or secondary box: identifies where the utility disconnected service.
• Routine reconnect or reconnect at meter: restores service after a disconnection. Wording such as "regular route," "special route," or "outside regular hours" describes how and when the utility performed the work.
• Service call: covers a utility visit to investigate a service problem in circumstances where its tariff permits a charge.
• Tampering or broken meter seal: covers investigation or repair involving unauthorized meter interference or replacement of a broken utility seal.

External sources (links leave Power Plans): PUCT retail delivery tariff and ERCOT Retail Market Guide.

The exact wording varies by provider and utility. Not every service carries a fee, and the amount can depend on the utility, the work, the meter, and when the service is performed. If you do not recognize a line, ask your provider for the service date, the TDU's full description, and the applicable tariff charge.

The TDU performs the work and bills the retail provider. The provider may then pass that charge through to the customer, where it is additive to the normal delivery charges for that billing period. On a standard residential bill, PUCT rules require the amount of each non-recurring charge to be itemized, so it will often appear as its own line rather than as a change to the normal TDU rate.

What does delivery cost on a real bill?

Here is a 1,000 kWh month decomposed, using one TDU's actual delivery rates and an illustrative fixed-rate plan:

A surprisingly large slice of the bill is delivery. When your bill feels high, it's worth knowing which side of it moved: on a typical pass-through plan, the delivery rates change only when the PUCT approves an update, while the energy side moves with your usage and your plan.

TDU delivery charges FAQ

What are one-time TDU charges on an electricity bill?

A one-time TDU charge pays for a specific utility service at the address. Your bill may call it a TDSP-specific discretionary service charge, connection charge, special meter read, customer-requested clearance, disconnect or reconnect charge, service call, tampering charge, or broken meter seal charge. The TDU bills the retail provider, which may pass the charge through in addition to the normal monthly delivery charges. On a standard bill, non-recurring charges must be itemized.

Do I pay TDU delivery charges on solar or battery exports?

No. Texas rules prohibit distribution and transmission charges for exporting energy from an approved, interconnected system. The per-kWh TDU charge applies to electricity imported from the grid, while the fixed monthly TDU charge still applies. Any export credit is separate and depends on the retail plan or battery program.

Can I avoid delivery charges?

No. Every home connected to the grid pays for delivery on every plan, either as line items passed through from the TDU (most plans) or folded into a bundled all-in rate. The only part you can shrink is the per-kWh portion, by using fewer kilowatt-hours from the grid.

Why did my delivery charge change in the middle of my contract?

TDU rates are updated every March 1 and September 1 and can also change between those dates with PUCT approval. Nearly all plans pass the update through to your bill, and Texas rules allow even a fixed-rate plan's price to change solely to reflect actual changes in TDU charges. The provider's side of a fixed-rate price, including the energy charge and base charge, stays locked for your term.

Who do I call about a power outage?

Call your TDU, not your provider. The TDU owns the wires and handles all outages and repairs. It restores power on the same priority regardless of which provider or plan you have. Your provider handles billing and contract questions.

Why are delivery charges different in Houston than in Dallas?

Different TDUs serve them (CenterPoint in Houston and Oncor in Dallas), and each has its own PUCT-approved rates reflecting its own network and costs. You can't choose or switch your TDU, so the difference only matters when comparing your bill to someone in another city. See which utility serves each part of Texas.

Sources and related reading

Current delivery rates are published in the PUCT's TDU rate reports. PUCT rule §25.211 prohibits distribution and transmission charges on exported energy, while §25.213 requires separate accounting for imports and exports from distributed renewable generation. Texas Utilities Code §39.916 makes the value of surplus generation in a customer-choice area a matter of agreement with the retail provider. PUCT rule §25.479 allows applicable non-recurring utility charges to pass through and requires them to be itemized on a standard bill. The rule allowing fixed-rate prices to reflect changes in TDU charges is the PUCT's customer protection rule §25.475.

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 how the deregulated Texas market works, which parts of Texas are deregulated, or how to read an Electricity Facts Label.