Understanding Your TDU: Who Actually Delivers Your Power in Texas
Learn what a TDU is, how it affects your electricity service in Texas, and why it matters when choosing a prepaid electricity provider.
When you sign up for electricity in Texas, you choose a retail provider—but that’s not the company that actually delivers power to your home. Behind the scenes, a transmission and distribution utility (TDU) owns the power lines and meters that make electricity service possible.
Understanding your TDU helps explain why connection times vary, what charges appear on your bill, and how the Texas electricity market actually works.
What This Article Covers
- What a TDU is and what it does
- The major TDUs serving Texas
- How your TDU affects prepaid electricity
- Why TDU charges appear on your bill
- Common questions about TDUs and service
What Is a TDU?
A TDU—transmission and distribution utility—is the company that owns and maintains the physical electricity infrastructure in your area. This includes:
- Power lines (both high-voltage transmission and local distribution)
- Utility poles and underground conduits
- Electric meters at homes and businesses
- Substations that step down voltage
When Texas deregulated its electricity market, it separated the competitive parts (generating and selling power) from the natural monopoly parts (the physical grid). TDUs handle the monopoly part—they’re the only company that can deliver electricity in their service territory.
TDU vs. Retail Provider
| TDU | Retail Provider | |
|---|---|---|
| What they do | Deliver electricity physically | Sell electricity and bill you |
| Can you choose? | No—determined by address | Yes—many options available |
| Who you interact with | Rarely (outages, meter issues) | Regularly (billing, account) |
| Competition | Regulated monopoly | Competitive market |
Your retail provider—whether traditional or prepaid—purchases electricity and handles your account, but the TDU delivers the actual power regardless of who you buy from.
Major TDUs in Texas
Texas has several TDUs, each serving different geographic areas. Your address determines which TDU serves you.
Oncor
Service Area: Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, West Texas, and parts of Central Texas
Oncor is the largest TDU in Texas, serving approximately 10 million customers across a wide territory. If you live in Dallas, Fort Worth, or surrounding areas, Oncor likely delivers your electricity.
CenterPoint Energy
Service Area: Greater Houston region
CenterPoint serves the Houston metropolitan area and surrounding communities. As Texas’s second-largest city, this represents a significant portion of the state’s electricity customers.
AEP Texas
Service Area: South and West Texas, including parts of the Rio Grande Valley
AEP Texas serves a geographically large but less densely populated area, including Corpus Christi, Laredo, and parts of the Hill Country.
Texas-New Mexico Power (TNMP)
Service Area: Scattered areas across Texas
TNMP serves various communities across the state, often in more rural or suburban areas that aren’t covered by the larger TDUs.
Non-Deregulated Areas
Some Texas areas aren’t part of the deregulated market:
- Austin: Austin Energy (municipal utility)
- San Antonio: CPS Energy (municipal utility)
- Electric cooperatives: Various rural areas
In these areas, you typically can’t choose your provider—the local utility handles both delivery and retail service. Some areas around these cities may still be deregulated; it depends on your specific address.
How Your TDU Affects Prepaid Electricity
Your TDU matters for prepaid electricity in several ways:
Connection and Switching Times
When you sign up for prepaid electricity, your provider submits an electronic request to your TDU to switch service. The TDU—not your provider—controls how quickly this happens.
Factors that affect timing:
- Meter status: Already active meters often switch faster
- Time of day: Requests earlier in the day typically process sooner
- TDU processing volume: Busy periods may have longer queues
- Type of request: New connections take longer than provider switches
This is why same-day connection is possible in some situations but not guaranteed—your provider can request it, but the TDU determines the actual timing.
Smart Meter Availability
TDUs have deployed smart meters throughout most of their territories. These meters enable:
- Daily (or more frequent) usage readings
- Remote connection and disconnection
- Real-time data for prepaid balance tracking
Smart meters are essential for prepaid electricity to work smoothly. If your address doesn’t have a smart meter (rare but possible in some areas), this may affect your prepaid options.
TDU Charges on Your Bill
Even with prepaid electricity, you pay TDU charges as part of your rate. These regulated charges cover:
- Transmission costs: Moving power from generators to your area
- Distribution costs: Local delivery infrastructure
- Meter reading and maintenance
- System reliability charges
Your retail provider collects these charges and passes them to the TDU. The TDU charges are the same regardless of which provider you choose—they’re regulated by the Public Utility Commission of Texas.
Key Things to Know
- Your TDU is determined by your address—you can’t change it
- TDUs deliver power; retail providers (including prepaid) sell and bill for it
- Connection times depend on TDU processing, not just your provider
- TDU charges are regulated and the same across all providers in an area
- Smart meters, managed by TDUs, enable prepaid billing to work
Finding Your TDU
If you’re not sure which TDU serves your address, you can find out by:
- Checking a current electricity bill — The TDU is typically listed
- Using the PUCT website — The Public Utility Commission has lookup tools
- Entering your address with providers — Most will identify your TDU
- Calling your current provider — They can tell you which TDU serves you
Knowing your TDU helps when researching providers because some may have more experience or better systems for working with certain TDUs.
TDU Service Areas and Prepaid Availability
Prepaid electricity is generally available throughout deregulated TDU territories, but availability can vary:
High Availability Areas
Most addresses served by Oncor, CenterPoint, and AEP Texas can access prepaid options. These TDUs cover major metro areas where prepaid is common.
Variable Availability Areas
- TNMP territories: Generally available, but some areas may have fewer provider options
- Edge cases: Very new construction, certain apartment complexes, or unusual meter situations may have limited options
Not Available
- Municipal utility areas (Austin, San Antonio proper)
- Electric cooperative territories
- Non-ERCOT areas of Texas (El Paso, parts of the Panhandle)
The best way to confirm availability is to check with providers using your specific address.
Common TDU-Related Issues
Outages
Power outages are handled by your TDU, not your retail provider. During an outage:
- Report to your TDU (or your provider can relay the report)
- Restoration times depend on the TDU’s crews and the nature of the outage
- Your retail provider typically can’t speed up restoration
Most TDUs have outage maps and reporting systems on their websites.
Meter Problems
If you believe your meter is malfunctioning:
- Contact your retail provider first—they can request a meter test
- The TDU performs the actual meter testing
- If the meter is faulty, the TDU replaces it
Meter issues are relatively rare with modern smart meters, but they can happen.
New Construction
For new homes or buildings that have never had electric service:
- The TDU must install the meter and connect to the grid
- This takes longer than switching an existing meter
- Your builder or electrician typically coordinates with the TDU
Prepaid options are generally available once the meter is installed and active.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I choose my TDU?
No. Your TDU is determined by your physical address. Unlike retail providers, TDUs are regulated monopolies for their specific geographic areas. You can choose among retail providers, but they all use the same TDU infrastructure for your location.
Why do TDU charges appear on my prepaid balance?
TDU charges are part of delivering electricity—they cover the cost of maintaining power lines, meters, and other infrastructure. Your retail provider collects these regulated charges and passes them to the TDU. These charges are the same regardless of which provider you choose.
Does my TDU affect connection speed?
Yes. When you sign up for electricity, your provider submits a request to your TDU, which processes the actual connection or switch. Processing times can vary by TDU, time of day, and current volume. Your provider can request quick processing, but the TDU controls the timing.
What if my TDU has an outage?
Contact your TDU directly or report through your retail provider. The TDU handles all physical infrastructure issues, including outage restoration. Your retail provider typically cannot affect restoration timing—that depends on the TDU’s crews and the nature of the problem.
Do different TDUs have different rates?
Yes, TDU charges vary by service territory. However, within a TDU’s territory, the charges are the same for all retail providers. You can’t shop for lower TDU rates, but you can compare the retail portion of your rate across providers.
How to Think About This
For most Texans, the TDU operates invisibly in the background. You don’t interact with them regularly, and their charges are simply part of your electricity cost. But understanding the TDU’s role helps explain several things:
- Why connection times aren’t entirely in your provider’s control
- Why certain charges on your bill are fixed regardless of provider
- Why outages are reported to a different company than who bills you
- Why some areas of Texas don’t have provider choice
When comparing prepaid providers, focus on the parts you can control: the retail rate, daily fees, customer service, and account management tools. The TDU portion is the same regardless of which provider you choose.
If you’d like to explore prepaid electricity options in your area, you can compare providers by Texas city. There’s no obligation—just information to help you decide what’s right for you.