The other half of the bill
TDU delivery charges
In most of Texas you choose who sells you electricity, but the wires that deliver it belong to one regulated utility: your TDU. Its delivery charges appear on every bill, are set by the PUCT, and are identical no matter which retail provider you pick. You can't shop them away. For most customers you can't negotiate them either, with one exception this page gets to.
Who your TDU is
- Oncor · Dallas–Fort Worth and much of North, Central, and West Texas
- CenterPoint · Houston and the surrounding metro
- AEP Texas · Corpus Christi and South Texas, plus Abilene and San Angelo
- TNMP · parts of the Gulf Coast, West Texas, and the DFW fringe
Lubbock Power & Light joined the list when Lubbock entered retail choice in 2024. Outside the choice areas (Austin Energy, CPS Energy, most co-ops) one utility does the whole job and there is no separate TDU line.
What's inside the charge
A fixed metering and customer charge, a per-kWh distribution charge for the local wires, a transmission charge for the high-voltage network, and a set of PUCT-approved riders. The rates adjust with PUCT approval, typically each March and September, and the exact figures for every delivery class are in each TDU's filed rate report on the PUCT site.
The piece a business can control
For large customers with interval meters, the transmission portion is billed on your average demand during ERCOT's four summer coincident peaks, the 4CP intervals. Miss all four and you pay the filed rate on a much smaller number for the entire following year. These are the current filed 4CP charges by TDU:
| TDU | Filed 4CP charge, monthly | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Oncor | $3.40–$5.48 per kW | PUCT rate report |
| CenterPoint | $4.51–$6.27 per kVA | PUCT rate report |
| AEP Texas | $5.97–$6.46 per kW | PUCT rate report |
| TNMP | $2.90–$7.89 per kW | PUCT rate report |
Ranges reflect delivery class. The rate on your bill is the one that counts.
Multiply your curtailable load by that rate and twelve months, and you have the number 4CP response is worth. The savings calculator does the arithmetic, and the track record shows how our peak calls have graded out.
What does TDU stand for?
Transmission and Distribution Utility, the regulated company that owns the poles, wires, and meters in your area. You'll also see TDSP, for Transmission and Distribution Service Provider. Same company, same charges.
Why are TDU charges the same no matter which electricity provider I pick?
Because the wires are a regulated monopoly. Retail providers compete on the energy price, then pass the TDU's delivery charges through at cost. Switching providers changes the energy line on your bill, not the delivery lines.
Why did my TDU delivery charges go up?
TDU rates adjust with PUCT approval, typically each March and September, as the utilities recover new transmission and distribution investment. Grid buildout across Texas has pushed them steadily higher, and they are a growing share of the average bill.
Can I lower my TDU delivery charges?
For homes, mostly by using less electricity, since part of the charge is per-kWh. For large businesses billed on demand it's a different story: the transmission portion keys off your load during ERCOT's four summer coincident peaks, so a facility that curtails through the right four 15-minute intervals pays less for a full year.
Are TDU charges the same as transmission charges?
Transmission is one piece of them. Delivery charges bundle transmission (the high-voltage lines between regions), distribution (the local wires to your building), metering, and PUCT-approved riders. The transmission piece is the one allocated by 4CP.