Pricing every plan…
Pricing every plan…
CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric owns the poles, wires and meters across the Houston area. It's a regulated delivery utility, not a retailer: whichever provider sells you electricity, CenterPoint delivers it and restores it after a storm.
Where its lines run: Houston and most of Harris County, plus Katy, Sugar Land, Pearland, Pasadena, Baytown, The Woodlands, Cypress, Spring, Humble and the surrounding counties along the Gulf Coast.
Price every plan in CenterPoint Energy's area on your own 12 months
The tables below use three typical homes. Drop in a bill from an address on CenterPoint Energy’s lines, or type your 12 monthly kWh, and we’ll rank every plan sold there by what you’d actually pay, delivery included.
Every home on CenterPoint Energy’s lines pays the same delivery charge, whichever retail provider sells the electricity: $4.90 a month plus 6.5333¢ per kWh, effective September 30, 2026. It pays for the poles, wires, meters and the crews that restore power. No provider can discount it, and every price on this site includes it.
| In a month you use | Delivery charge | Per kWh, all told |
|---|---|---|
| 500 kWh | $37.57 | 7.5¢ |
| 1,000 kWh | $70.23 | 7.0¢ |
| 2,000 kWh | $135.57 | 6.8¢ |
The monthly charge is why small homes pay more per kWh: spread over 500 kWh it adds 1.0¢ to every one, over 2,000 kWh only 0.2¢.
On your bill the charge appears as a line of its own, or folded into the energy price on plans that quote one all-in number. On every Electricity Facts Label, the three average prices at 500, 1,000 and 2,000 kWh already include it, which is why a plan’s advertised price is higher than its energy charge. The charges change: at least twice a year, usually around March 1 and September 1, when the Public Utility Commission approves its updated rates, with interim changes in other months. A change passes through to every plan at once, fixed-rate ones included; only the energy charge is fixed.
Small businesses pay a different charge. CenterPoint Energy bills its smallest business class, accounts of 10 kW or less with no demand charge, $4.96 a month plus 4.2983¢ per kWh. We price 28 plans from 4 providers there, on the small-business rates page.
Every plan sold on CenterPoint Energy’s lines, priced month by month on a year with a real summer peak, for a small, a typical and a large home, with the delivery charge above included.
About 500 kWh a month: a one- or two-bedroom apartment, or a small house with gas heat. 6,001 kWh over the year, with a Houston summer peak.
| Plan | Term | Advertised at 500 kWh | Real price | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Octo Simple 12 Octopus Energy | 12 mo | 11.8¢ | 11.8¢ | $710 lowest |
Octo Simple 14 Octopus Energy | 14 mo | 11.9¢ | 11.9¢ | $714 +$4 |
 No Bull 12 Energy Texas | 12 mo | 11.9¢ | 11.9¢ | $716 +$6 |
The cheapest-looking plan loses here. SimpleSaver 12 advertises 6.8¢ at 1,000 kWh, the lowest of any plan, but this home would pay 19.9¢ per kWh on it: $485 more over the year than Octo Simple 12. It ranks #184 of 218.
Contracts under a year are ranked apart. Plans of 12 months or longer are ranked above, because they hold their price for the whole year. The cheapest shorter contract, No Bull 3 (3 months), would cost about $620 if its price held for 12 months, which it doesn’t promise to: $90 less than Octo Simple 12, and then a new price at the 3-month mark.
About 1,000 kWh a month, the level every plan advertises its price at. 12,000 kWh over the year, with a Houston summer peak.
| Plan | Term | Advertised at 1,000 kWh | Real price | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Octo Simple 12 Octopus Energy | 12 mo | 11.8¢ | 11.8¢ | $1,421 lowest |
 True Value 12 True Power | 12 mo | 11.8¢ | 11.8¢ | $1,421 +$0 |
Octo Simple 14 Octopus Energy | 14 mo | 11.9¢ | 11.9¢ | $1,430 +$9 |
The cheapest-looking plan loses here. SimpleSaver 12 advertises 6.8¢ at 1,000 kWh, the lowest of any plan, but this home would pay 15.3¢ per kWh on it: $409 more over the year than Octo Simple 12. It ranks #98 of 218.
Contracts under a year are ranked apart. Plans of 12 months or longer are ranked above, because they hold their price for the whole year. The cheapest shorter contract, SmartGreen 3 (3 months), would cost about $1,236 if its price held for 12 months, which it doesn’t promise to: $185 less than Octo Simple 12, and then a new price at the 3-month mark.
About 2,000 kWh a month: a big house, a pool pump, or electric heat. 23,999 kWh over the year, with a Houston summer peak.
| Plan | Term | Advertised at 2,000 kWh | Real price | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
True Value 12 True Power | 12 mo | 11.6¢ | 11.6¢ | $2,783 lowest |
 Speedy 12 Express Energy | 12 mo | 11.7¢ | 11.7¢ | $2,808 +$24 |
 Basic 12 Veteran Energy | 12 mo | 11.7¢ | 11.7¢ | $2,808 +$24 |
The cheapest-looking plan loses here. SimpleSaver 12 advertises 6.8¢ at 1,000 kWh, the lowest of any plan, but this home would pay 14.0¢ per kWh on it: $568 more over the year than True Value 12. It ranks #71 of 218.
Contracts under a year are ranked apart. Plans of 12 months or longer are ranked above, because they hold their price for the whole year. The cheapest shorter contract, SmartGreen 3 (3 months), would cost about $2,353 if its price held for 12 months, which it doesn’t promise to: $430 less than True Value 12, and then a new price at the 3-month mark.
Estimates, as of November 2026. We simulate 12 monthly bills for each of the 276 plans we track from 41 providers, using each plan’s Electricity Facts Label and CenterPoint Energy’s published delivery charges, on the three usage profiles above. Taxes and fees that aren’t on the EFL are left out, so real bills run a little higher for every plan alike. Listed but not ranked: 26 time-of-use plans ("free nights" and the like), priced by the time of day or week, which a monthly bill doesn't show; and 15 variable-rate plans, with a price that can change every month, so a year ahead can't be priced from today's rate. They’re on Plans we track with their labels. Prices change; check the EFL before enrolling.
The same plans and the same delivery charge apply at every address in Houston. Each city page prices them for that city.
41 providers, 276 fixed-rate plans we can price. The ones with the most plans here:
Every home on CenterPoint Energy's lines pays the same delivery charge, whichever retail provider sells the electricity: $4.90 a month plus 6.5333¢ per kWh, as of September 30, 2026. That's about $37.57 in a 500 kWh month, $70.23 at 1,000 kWh and $135.57 at 2,000 kWh. The charge covers the poles, wires, meters and outage crews. Every price on WattaWatt includes it.
For a typical home using about 1,000 kWh a month, the cheapest plan that holds its price all year, as of November 2026, is Octo Simple 12 from Octopus Energy: about $1,421 for the year, 11.8¢ per kWh with CenterPoint Energy's delivery charges included, the lowest of 218 plans of 12 months or more. The order changes with how much you use and when, so price the plans on your own 12 months before choosing.
No. The delivery utility comes with the address: CenterPoint Energy owns the lines where you live, and no retail provider can route around them. What you choose is the retail provider, the company that buys the electricity and sets the price for it. In CenterPoint Energy's area that's 41 providers selling 276 fixed-rate plans we can price.
CenterPoint Energy, not your retail provider. The provider sells you the electricity but has no trucks; CenterPoint Energy owns the wires and sends the crews. Its outage number is printed on every bill and on its website, centerpointenergy.com. Report the outage there even if you have never dealt with CenterPoint Energy directly.
Houston and most of Harris County, plus Katy, Sugar Land, Pearland, Pasadena, Baytown, The Woodlands, Cypress, Spring, Humble and the surrounding counties along the Gulf Coast. We price the plans sold in Houston, Katy, Sugar Land, Pearland, The Woodlands, Pasadena, Baytown and Galveston; the same plans and delivery charge apply at every address on CenterPoint Energy's lines. Utility borders don't follow city limits, so a neighboring town, or a few streets, can be on another utility's lines or on a co-op with no retail choice. Your bill names the delivery utility.
At least twice a year, usually around March 1 and September 1, when the Public Utility Commission approves its updated rates, with interim changes in other months. The current charge, $4.90 a month plus 6.5333¢ per kWh, took effect on September 30, 2026. A change applies to every plan at once, including fixed-rate plans already under contract: the energy charge is what's fixed, and the delivery charge passes through. We update every price on this site when it changes.
Reliant
AP Gas & Electric
Just Energy
Cirro Energy
Discount Power
Direct Energy
4Change Energy
Rhythm
Gexa Energy
Green Mountain Energy
Frontier Utilities