Residents of Texas all have one thing in common: they all receive an electricity facts label with their first electric bill. A Texas electricity facts label, also known as an EFL, is every Texan’s guide to their electric service from their private provider.
It’s important to check your electricity facts label to understand how your utility company calculates your electric bill each month and ensure that your electricity price is accurate. In order to understand each charge on your Texas electricity bill, you must know how to read an EFL.
An electricity facts label is a legal disclosure about your electric service that is required by the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) for every retail electricity customer in the state of Texas. It includes important information about your electricity plan, monthly energy charges, and contract terms. The electricity facts label was designed to give utility customers full transparency about each variable that affects the cost of their service, such as zip code, usage, and other factors. Every Texan can expect to receive an electricity facts label when they start a new service contract with a Retail Electricity Provider (REP) in Texas. The EFL typically accompanies your first bill.
Commercial electricity plans in Texas do not have an EFL.
Understanding each component of your electricity facts label ensures that you know exactly what you are paying for when you send money to the electric company each month. Just like a nutrition label, the EFL gives you detailed information about the product that you and your family consume every day.
Every Texas EFL includes three sections: electricity price, rate calculation, and contract terms. Each of these sections contains important information that will help you calculate your energy bill each month.
The format of your EFL will depend on your supplier and plan, but for the most part, there are 4 key terms you should look for.
Once you understand how to make sense of all of the information presented on your EFL, you can estimate how much you’ll pay for electricity each month. Follow these simple steps to calculate how much electricity will cost with the plan offered by your provider:
A few factors can affect the cost of your electricity.
Whether you’ve signed a contract for a fixed rate or variable rate can significantly affect what your bill looks like each month. A fixed-rate contract means that the utility provider cannot change the price per kWh of your electricity for the duration of the contract term. Some providers can advertise cheap energy rates for the first few months of service because they offer variable rate plans, which allow them to raise your electricity price at any given time.
Your EFL lists whether you are on a fixed rate or variable rate energy plan. If you choose to cancel your electricity service before the end of your contract term, an early termination fee will likely apply. This information can also be found on your EFL.
Reading a Texas electricity facts label can be confusing, and reading one incorrectly often leads to unwelcome surprises when you receive your monthly electric bill. But the good news is that EnergyBot makes it easy to find the best electricity plan for your home or business.
Enter your zip code to compare energy plans offered by electricity providers in your area today!